BLAKELEE'S 



Industrial Cyclopedia: 



HOW TO MAKE AND HOW TO MEND. 



A SIMPLE, PRACTICAL HOME GUIDE FOR MEN, WOMEN 
AND CHILDREN. 

GIVING 

EASY FORMS FOR DOING ALL KINDS OF WORK INDOOR 

AND OUT, WITH LENGTHS, BREADTHS, WIDTHS 

AND HOW TO PUT TOGETHER. 

ADAPTED TO THE DAILY WANTS OF EVERYBODY, 



'J] More than Two Hundred Illustrations. 



BY 



GEORGE E. BLAKELEE, 

PRACTICAL MECHANIC, AND FORMER EDITOR OF THE OHIO FARMER. 



•DEC 8 



NEW YORK: ^''S'FvXrH 
FORDS, HOWARD & HULBEkT:' 




KANSAS CITY: S. F. JUNKIN & CO. 



^^^ 

^^^ 



Entered, according to the act of Congress, in the year 1884, by 

GEO. E. BLAKELEE, 

in the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C» 



PREFACE, 



PERSONAL experience and observation have taught 
me to beheve one great defect to be found ahke 
in city, town and rural homes, is the lack of knowledge 
concerning simple mechanical affairs, or, in other words, 
a lack of ability to construct and repair the multitude 
of articles which are almost constantly needed for use. 
In looking over the books which profess to be prac- 
tical, both of this country and of Europe, I find there 
is not one of simplified mechanics. Believing that a 
work that may be turned to by an unprofessional, by 
men, women and children, as a daily aid in industrial 
affairs, will be favorably received by the masses, this 
volume has been produced. It is the result of careful 
labor for years, and if it meets the end for which it is 
intended, it will most assuredly gratify 

THE AUTHOR. 



CONTENTS. 



PASE 

The Home Workshop 9 

Becoming a Meciiaiiic 11 

Tools, Fitting up and Using IS 

Nails and Nailing 26 

Finishing Wood Work 28 

Preparing and Working Timber 29 

How to Mortise and Tenon 34 

Hints about Screws 35 

Uses of Eivets and Bolts 36 

Miter Work 38 

Construction of Houses 39 

Cheap Summer House 4'r 

Eoofs of Dwellings 48 

Construction of Chimneys 50 

Fixing up Doors 52 

Plaster and Plastering 53 

Management of Windows 56 

Papering Walls 5'r 

Picket Fences for Door-yards, etc 59 

Building Board Fences 62 

Construction of Gates 67 

Construction of Cellars 72 

Walks about the Premises 75 

How to Build an Ice House , 78 

How to Make a Dog Kennel 80 

Poultry Houses, Yards and Coops 81 

The Apiary 85 

Construction of Ladders 89 

Construction of Lightning Eods 91 

Trellises for Vines 93 

Scaffoldings for Buildings 95- 

Door-yard Eock Work 96 

How to Make a Hot Bed 98 

Seats for Gardens and Lawns 102 

Construction of Cisterns 104 

Wells and Water 107 

Management of Pumps 109 

Grafting and Budding Trees and Vines 109 

Management of Trees 115 

Simple Uses for Wire 118 

Management of Barrels 120 

Boxes and Crates 121 

Garden Fixtures 122 

To Make a Blackboard 124 



6 CONTENTS. 

The Home "Workshop — Continued. paok 

Filters and Filtering 126 

Mechanical Uses of Oil , 128 

The Wheelbarrow 129 

Management of Carriages 132 

Management of Harness 136 

How to Shoe a Horse , 142 

Managing Teams 145 

Paints and Painting 146 

Colors and Shades in Paints 156 

Paint and Striping Brushes 159 

Cheap Paints and Washes 161 

Whitewashing and Calcimining 166 

Varnish and Varnishing 168 

Putty and Puttying 176 

Glue and Gluing 178 

Polishes and Polishing 184 

Solder and Soldering 189 

How to Tie Knots 192 

Cements and Cementing 194 

To Stain Wood, Iron, Horn, etc 206 

Eust on Metals 212 

Treatment of Brass Articles 214 

Management of Steel Articles 215 

Inks and Ink Making 216 

How to Make Paste 219 

How to Make Mucilage 220 

Tanning and Care of Leather , 221 

Care of Boots and Shoes 224 

Hints about Corks 227 

Care of Marble 228 

Management of Paper " 229 

Drawing and Mounting Maps 232 

Management of Clocks 234 

Home-Made Barometers 235 

The Eazor and its Use 236 

General Miscellany 238 

iFoB THE Boys 257 

How to Make Hand Sleds 258 

Houses and Coops for Birds 262 

The Babbit Cage 266 

Boat Making 267 

The Aquarium 269 

The Home Gymnasium 270 

Balloon Making 273 

Kite Making 275 

Wind Wheels , 279 

How to Manage a Watch 280 

Violin and Flute 281 

How to Manage a Gun 283 

Bow and Arrow Making 287 

How to Make a Cross-Gun 288 

Small Weapons 290 



CONTENTS. J 

For the Boys — Contiruued, paob 

Traps and Trapping 293 

Preserving Skins of Animals 302 

Skinning and Stuffing Birds 308 

The Mechanical Farmer 312 

Farm Eesidences 315 

Houses of Plank 317 

Farm Barns and Stables 319 

Sheds for Stock 330 

Feeding Boxes for Cattle 334 

Feeding Racks for Sheep 335 

How to Make Troughs 337 

Farm Milking Yards 341 

Construction of Dairy Houses 342 

Smoke Houses 344 

Construction of Pig Pens 345 

How to Build Corn Cribs 347 

"Wagons and their Management 350 

Doubletrees and Whippletrees 362 

The Neck Yoke 365 

Construction of Farm Sleds 366 

The Field Poller 370 

Cheap Field Harrows 375 

Stone Boat Making 376 

Machinery for Leveling Land 378 

Manure Spreaders 380 

Crotch Drags or Drays 380 

Hay and Grain Implements 382 

Storing Hay and Grain .~ 384 

Harvesting the Corn Crop 388 

How to Load Logs 391 

How to Eemove Stumps 392 

Plows and Plowing 395 

Managing Large Saws 398 

Farm Fencing 401 

How to Build "Wire Fence 411 

Construction of Flood Gates 414 

The Chopping Ax 415 

Split and Shaved Shingles 417 

Preparing Fire Wood 419 

Forests and their Preservation. 422 

Timber and its Management 425 

Maple Sugar Making 429 

Cheap Underdrains and Ditches 433 

Kocks and Bowlders 436 

Managing Farm Stock 438 

Farm Measurements 449 

Construction of Fish Ponds 453 

Dairy Utensils 454 

Making and Keeping cider 456 

Pork Packing 460 

Storing Vegetables 464 

Mushroom Culture 467 



8 CONTENTS. 

The Mechanical Faemer — Continued. , paobt 

Management of Hemp 46& 

Preparing Poultry for Market 471 

Management of Eggs 473 

Construction of Cheese Factories 477 

Rural Miscellany 481 

The Handy Housewife 515 

Fixing "Up Furniture 516 

Pictures and Picture Frames 523 

Cheap Window Curtains 535 

Making and Cleaning Carpets , 537 

Home-Made Eustic Work 541 

Beds and their Covering 548- 

Ornamental and Useful Boxes 552 

• Cheap and Ornamental Baskets 555 

Tidies and Eugs 564 

How to Make Mats 571 

The Management of Fabrics 575 

Methods of Bleaching 587 

How to Eemove Stains 589 

Dyes and Dyeing 592 

Manufacturing Starch 602 

Soap and Soap Making 603 

Useful and Ornamental Articles 607 

Kitchen and Table Ware 613 

Care of Glass Articles 619 

Management of Lamps 624 

Manufacture and Care of Furs 627 

Management of Kid Gloves 630 

Knit Articles , 633 

To Make a Pin Bail 640 

Butter and Cheese Making 641 

Small Ice Storage 646 

Disinfectants , 647 

Domestic Miscellany 648 

GiBzs AT Home 657 

Wax Flower Making 658 

• Natural Flowers and Plants 676 

Leaf Ornaments 683 

Mosses and Moss Ornaments 686 

Shell Work 689 

Various Fancy Articles 692 



The Home Workshop. 



No reasonable man will dispute the importance of having a workshop upon 
his premises, and especially one who has boys to bring up. Boys will be busy, 
and if opportunity is not given for a full employment of their time, either with 
work or sport at home, they will seek diversion abroad, which will not usually 
result profitably. 

Whether it is designed to have the son become a lawyer, preacher, merchant, 
farmer, or to follow any other vocation, it is none the less essential to have 
him know some of the principles of mechanical art, and how to apply them, 
for no man lives an industrious life without very frequently seeing the need of 
such knowledge. There are certain mechanical rules that apply to almost 
every piece of work that man attempts to perform, from the folding of a paper 
to the matching together of two boards, and the bungling manner in which 
these things are generally done shows how little idea men have of mechanism. 

Where there is a comfortable workshop supplied with good tools, the boys 
are seldom known to leave it upon leisure days to loaf in the streets. If 
nothing else is given them to do, they will be manufacturing windmills, 
weather-cocks, sleds, hand carts, etc., and every hour thus employed adds to 
their skill as workmen. Very soon they will be able to make rainy days as 
profitable as any other, repairing or making very many important fixtures 
about the house. 

We know a goodly number of boy mechanics who have supplied their homes 
with brackets, flower stands, step-ladders, and a hundred and one other things 
convenient and valuable. 

Every man should have sufficient knowledge of the use of tools to do a great 
part of the repairing upon his buildings and implements. This acquirement, 
with a bench and moderate outfit, will save many dollars annually, and besides 
give the satisfaction of knowing the work is done as you would wish to have it, 
which is not always the case, when performed by a disinterested party ; and 
too, a multitude of really useful articles will be manufactured and used when 
one is enabled to make them, which never would be procured if obtainable only 
by purchase. 

The great difficulty which a novice at the bench has to contend with, is a 
lack of knowledge concerning lengths, breadths and thicknesses of the different 
articles he wishes to make, and the author's effort in this book has been to 
supply that need. 



lO THE HOME WORKSHOP. 

Tools Required for Beginners. — To fit up a workshop, but little out- 
lay is necessary. The following list of tools will answer for the first outfit ; 
Two good planes, a jack and smoother with double bits ; four chisels, one 
fourth, one half, three fourths and inch ; a square, try-square ; bit stock and six 
bits ; small hand saw, gauge, compass, bevel, draw shave and hammer. These 
will not cost, of good material, and they should be of the very best, more than 
ten or twelve dollars. 

Importance of CJood Tools. — It is very difficult for a good workman 
to execute a nice job with poor tools, and, of course, very much more difficult 
for one unaccustomed to the use of any to perform work that would be passable. 
Good mechanics, however, are very seldom found unsupplied with proper pre- 
requisites for their trade ; but the unprofessional, in three cases out of five, 
will have an old single bitted jack plane ; a kinked up hand saw, that has been 
handed down from the grandfather ; a used up chisel ; an iron faced twenty- 
five-cent hammer, etc. ; and whenever he attempts to saw a board square, or to 
drive a nail, such bad work is made that the conclusion is at once arrived at, 
that nature never intended him for a mechanic, and he is very glad that three 
years were not fooled away serving an apprenticeship. 

The best workman living cannot plane a board smooth with a single bitted, 
nicked up jack, or cut a board so as to make a good joint with a dull and kinked 
saw, or leave a good finish when driving nails with a soft faced, battered up 
hammer. But a novice with good tools will work out a very fair job the first 
time trying, if blessed with an ordinary amount of mechanical ingenuity. 

A mechanic has some pride in the appearance of his " kit," and the unpro- 
fessional may as well keep his workshop outfit in a respectable condition as any 
other. It costs no more, and always has a tendency to elicit credit to the owner 
from others. And then there is another influence which always is for good, 
and that is, the improved execution of workmanship when handling tools of nice 
appearance. There is a sort of pride connected with shoving a good hand saw 
or plane, that will prompt a man to be very particular with the work he is 
■doing. 

Old tools are good in their places, and a few should be kept for dirty jobs ; 
but do not give them to the boys to work with after they are old enough to 
exercise discretion in the shop, for the inherent pride spoken of above is 
stronger in them than those older. If they have a nice outfit, care will be exer- 
cised in the use of them ; but if put off with those that are old and rusty, the 
effect will be exactly opposite, and the boys will grow up botch workmen. A 
habit instilled in youth will be very hard to eradicate in after life. 

Tlie §liop Scrap Sox. — It is well to have the workshop provided with 
awls, rivets, buckles, leather, etc., so that harness or machine bands mav be 
repaired at such times, as too great a delay would have to be made to take them 
to a harness or shoe shop. 



BECOMING A MECHANIC. II 

I>omg' Fine Work.. — I do not advocate that an inexperienced workman 
should attempt to do fine or difficult repairing, for it would not be profitable to 
attempt such work. If a wheel of the wagon or carriage is defective, it will be 
better to take it to a wheelwright and have it put into good condition by him, 
and so it will be with many things ; but for ordinary work the greater portion 
may be done at home, and with a decided saving. 

To L<es§eii Noise in Workshops. — It is sometimes desirable to check 
the noise of the workshop, where it is located in the residence, and the sounds 
are transmitted through the floor to the apartment below. This may be done 
by the use of rubber cushions under the legs of the work bench, or of kegs of 
sand or sawdust applied in the same way. 

A few inches of sand or sawdust is first poured into each keg ; on this is laid 
a board or block, upon which the leg rests, and around the leg and block is 
poured fine, dry sand or sawdust. Noise and shock are prevented. An ordi- 
nary anvil so mounted may be used in a dwelling house without annoying the 
inhabitants. 



BECOMING A MECHANIC. 



While this work is not intended for the practical, scientific workman, I have 
a word to say to young men who contemplate becoming mechanics, respecting 
the mistake often made in estimating quahfications for the enterprise. 

An opinion is too prevalent that a trade can be sufficiently learned in a few 
months, or a year at most to master the business. In order to become an 
adept in any calling, a person must receive the full lessons of experience. 

Let him be ever so familiar with the theories in all of the details, by the 
study of books, he is poorly qualified to secure success without a thorough, prac- 
tical knowledge of the branch of industry he has selected to pursue ; yet aside 
from the physical efforts which are necessary to make a mastery, in the life of 
the mechanic, there must be a due mental exertion. 

It is only the absolute and pressing demand for mechanics that gives so many 
poor workmen employment, and while the inferior workmen get employment, 
they are not getting such wages as the cimes demand. 

A first class mechanic can secure almost any price within the bounds of 
reason, and can hold a position permanently so long as there is work to be per- 
formed, while the underling is constantly changing, and when the time comes 
for reducing the help he is the first to be discharged. Now what I wish to 
particularly enforce upon the young men at this time is the importance of get- 
ting a full knowledge of the business that is chosen as an occupation, before 
leaving the apprenticeship to attempt "jour." work. 

It IS thought that after something of an insight into a trade has been ob- 



12 BECOMING A MECHANIC. 

tained, greater wages can be secured than by continuing with their instructors ; 
and ihis is a fact, but for every dollar gained in the first two years after making 
the change, ten will be lost in the subsequent two, and for the simple reason 
that an unskilled man attempting the work of a jour., as he can obtain jobs 
here and there, never becomes efficient as a mechanic, and never receives a 
first-class mechanic's wages, after a display of his absolute ability has been 
made. 

Further than this, to be successful as a mechanic, a person must entertain 
sentiments of self respect, or, in other words, he must feel that he does not de- 
grade himself by his employment, and that to be engaged in it, he will be con- 
sidered honorable by those whose good opinion he is anxious to secure. 

Here we meet with one of the worst follies of which young men are guilty. 
An idea has very extensively obtained possession of the mind, that a mechanic 
is not as respectable as people who engage in lighter callings, or no calling at 
all. A person thus impressed is in no condition to enter successfully upon a 
career of usefulness as a mechanic ; he sets himself to work, if he makes an 
attempt to master the trade, with a mill stone around his neck. He does not 
respect himself, his calling nor his associates. He is without a motive ade- 
quate to the stimulation and development of his better faculties, and goes about 
his business feeling like a drudge, rather than as an honorable and high minded 
aspirant after a laudable and praiseworthy object. 

This fear of losing dignity among the American people is becoming alarming. 
Comparatively few of the native young men are becoming mechanics, and al- 
ready we have to look abroad for nearly all of our men to sustain the mechan- 
ical industries. The reason of all this deficiency of native mechanics, as I 
have said before, is not owing to there being an insufficient remuneration for 
labor, but from a foolish pride and absolute laziness. It is better to be a good 
bricklayer than a poor lawyer ; a first class carpenter than a common doctor; 
and a man is much more independent as a successful shoemaker than as a 
poor editor, book-keeper or clerk ; and it is worth while for young men and 
parents to think of these things. 

A good trade is always a comforting companion to travel with, a something 
that a man can fall back upon in time of need ; and yet it does not preclude him 
from entering upon some profession, if his inclinations or genius develop the 
proper capacity. In fact, our most successful business men in almost every 
capacity are from the workshops and farms. 

There are high positions to be acquired in mechanical arts, and every work- 
man has a right, and an opportunity to become a master in these ; indeed, a man 
can be great in anything if he has the proper elements in him. 

If he has not the proper elements for becoming a master mechanic, he had 
better seek other employment. The first thing to determine should be where 
the special gifts and qualifications lead, and then follow. 



TOOLS — FITTING UP AND USING. I3 

TOOLS-FITTING UP AND USING. 



Manag'iiig' Bencli Planes. — Young carpenters are very likely to dis- 
figure their bench planes unless they are taught at the start to handle them 
correctly. The hammer should never be used to loosen the bits. By inverting 
the jack and jointer, and hitting the forward part a blow upon the bench, the 
bit will drop out. By hitting the small end of the smoother the same effect 
will be obtained. When setting or adjusting the bits a very light tap upon the 
planes, on the places indicated for removing the bits, will cause the blades to 
recede. For this work use a square faced hammer, and be careful how it is 
used. 

When shoving the plane a curving motion will be found of decided benefit, 
as the bit then crosses the grain of the wood at an angle. Where the timber is 
cross grained keep the plane bit sharp, and set the cap down very near the 
edge. Shove the plane inclined sidewise a Httle. 

A light coating of linseed oil, applied once in a while, is a benefit to planes, 
but should not be used upon metals. Almost any kind of animal oil may be 
applied to steel, providing it contains no salt. When grinding keep the same 
bevel upon the bit that is formed upon the new, and do not grind the face more 
than to take off feather edge. 

Selecting Bench Plane§. — Second growth beech is the best wood for 
planes. Something of its utility can be told by the growth lines upon the end 
of the plane. The further these lines are apart, the liarder the wood, and the 
harder the wood the better. See also that the timber was split, and not sawed 
out. This can be told by following the grain through upon the surface of the 
plane. If sawed, the grains may be crossed, which would make the plane 
objectionable. Take those with double bits, and see that the wedge fits nicely, 
and is of good timber. 

Putting on Chisel Handles. — It is always best to buy chisels already 
handled, but there are frequently those requiring new ones, and sometimes it is 
necessary to purchase them without any. No one. Unless a skilled workman, 
should attempt to put on turned handles, for they are very liable to be split, and 
very difficult to set true ; and if not set true, the chisel will most certainly be 
broken if a mallet is used upon it. 

Fine grained, seasoned hickory is the best wood for handles. Cut into blocks 
about one and a half or two inches square, and four and a half inches long — 
vary the length more or less, according to size of chisel. Bore a hole in the 
center of one end with a bit about the size of the shank at the base, but do not 
sink the cut more than an inch ; then use a smaller, the same depth, and so on 
until a hole is made as deep as the shank is long, except about half an inch. 

Now screw the blade of the chisel in the vise firmly, and drive on the handle 



14 



TOOLS — FITTING UP AND USING. 



block carefully ; if going too tight, remove and enlarge the hole. When the 
block is driven up to the shoulder, then you are ready to true up and shape the 
handle. 

The first thing to be done is to smooth the block off on the side of the chisel 
face, but do not remove much wood ; then with a straight edge — a common 
square is best — draw a line down through the centre of the block. To do this 
accurately, set the straight edge exactly in the middle of the cut of the chisel, 
and over the centre of the shank, as shown in illustration ; this will be right for 
the guide line. 






HOME MADE CHISEL HANDLES. 



Measure from the line each way, at the head of the handle, equal distances, 
making the breadth from seven eighths to an inch and an eighth, according to 
the size of the chisel ; then from these two points draw lines to the outer edges 
of the shank shoulder, and shave away the wood upon the sides down to the 
lines. Now line again from the centre of the chisel sides, and work off as 
before. 

Chamfer the corners until shaped to please the eye ; then round the head or 
top enough so that a blow from the mallet will strike the center, and not the 
edges. If the corners are hit, pieces will be split off, and the handle spoiled. 

A set of good, seasoned hickory handles, even if in daily use, will last for 
years. 

Selectmg- Chisels, — There are two things to be observed when selecting 
chisels for the shop. The first is that the handles are good, and that the blades 
set true in the handles. If the blades are not in perfect line with the handles, 
they will be very likely to break under a sharp blow. See that the handles are 
either of hickory, ironwood or appletree. 

The second feature to be observed is the trueness of broad chisels. Look at 
the fiat surface, or face, and see that they are not warped. 



TOOLS — FITTING UP AND USING. 1 5 

Wiietitones. — All stones used upon the work bench are not alike in the 
nature of their formation. When first putting a new whetstone into use, try- 
water upon it, and if this keeps the surface from being glazed or burnished, oil 
will not be needed. Some stones work better with water than oil. A dry stone 
is very apt to give a wire edge. It has been said that a little carbolic acid 
added to water will increase the cut on either a whetstone or a grindstone. 

Instead of oil, which thickens and makes the stones dirty, a mixture of 
glycerine and alcohol is used by many. The proportions of the mixture vary- 
according to the instrument operated upon. An article with a large surface — 
a razor, for instance — sharpens best with a limpid liquid, as three parts of 
glycerine to one of alcohol. 

For a graving tool, the cutting surface of which is very small, as is also the 
pressure exercised on the stone in sharpening, it is necessary to employ glycer- 
ine almost pure, with but two or three drops of alcohol. 

Whenever oil is used, the stone should be covered as soon as the work is 
completed. If not, dust settles and is held by the grease, so that the stone will 
have to be cleaned to get its best action the next time it is wanted for use. 

To Face an Oil Stone. — The simplest and most effectual manner of fac- 
ing an oil stone that has become hollow is to lay a sheet of No. 3 sand paper on 
a level board, and rub the face of the stone upon the sand. The stone should^ 
however, be cleaned with warm water, in order to remove all oil or grease ; if 
the sand paper becomes filled with the cuttings from the stone, brush it with a 
stiff broom. No. 2 glass paper is also used, and will cut away faster than sand 
paper. Five or ten minutes rubbing will be found sufficient. Your glass paper 
will not be spoiled by the operation. 

Worn Otit ^SiJV Files, — Around almost any house may be found half a 
dozen worn-out, three-cornered files, which are generally considered worthless; 
but they are not, and should never be thrown away. If not too badly used up 
they may be cut over, or renewed. 

Resliarpeuing Files. — Remove all the grease from the steel and sub- 
merge the files in a solution made by putting one ounce of sulphuric acid in a 
pint of soft water. Watch them, and let the files remain in only long enough 
to become sharpened. A little, water-tight wood trough should be used to hold 
the solution, as it will eat metals. The renewing in this way will not cost one 
cent each, and they answer a very good purpose, but are not so good as when 
cut in the original way with the cold chisel. 

Anotlier Method, — Wash the files with hot sal soda water, and remove 
all grease with a coarse brush and cloth. After becoming perfectly clean, sus- 
pend in a mixture of concentrated nitric acid, with eight parts by measure of 
water, for twenty-five minutes ; then well clean in water with brushes, and 
re-immerse for twenty-five minutes more in the acid mixture with addition of 
another eighth of strong acid. 



I6 



TOOLS — FITTING UP AND USING. 



Brush again and re-immerse, after adding to the bath a sixteenth part of con- 
centrated sulphuric acid. This heats the bath, and the etching proper now 
commences, and is kept up for three minutes, with a vibratory motion of the 
bath. Wash and brush and re-immerse in a bath similar to the last, with sim- 
lar agitation, for five minutes. Wash repeatedly with water, then with milk of 
lime, finally rinse again with water, dry quickly at a gentle heat, and varnish 
while still warm, with oil. 

Oo^ir to Clean Files. — When a file gets clogged wifeh particles of wood, 
it ceases to cut well, and should be cleaned. There are several modes that are 
effectual, and perhaps the most convenient is to dampen the file, and then with 
a block, wedge, or thin strip of board, run the ends of the grains across the 
steel on a line with the cut. The particles of wood becoming moistened, 
expand, and are easily rubbed away; but it can only be done by working the 
cleaner crosswise the bar, and with the grooves. 





SAW-SET, COUNTERSINK AND REAMER FROM OLD FILES. 

Another method is to rub the file briskly upon a piece of woolen cloth which 
has been drawn tight. The file must be moved across the fabric the same way 
that the steel is cut, so that the fibers of the cloth can clear out the furrows. A 
file exposed to steam of high pressure, for a minute or two, will come out as 
clean as new. The use of a metal brush or card for cleaning wood files is not 
profitable ; it will answer well, however, for cleaning those used upon iron or 
steel. 

Saw-Sets of Files, — Files that are too far gone to be renewed, may be 
put to various uses. A good saw- set can be made by cutting the file off at the 
heel, or base of the handle, and again an inch or more from the pomt ; grind 
the ends square, and the sides smooth, as illustrated. Nail-sets may be made 
in the same way. Different sizes should be kept, as a very large or very small 
one will not answer for all uses. 

Countersink of a File. — By having the heel shaped to fit a bit-stock, 
and breaking off an inch or two of the point, and grinding it diamond shape at 
the end, as shown in engraving, you have a good countersink. 

Turning-CSiisel of a File.— Remove a little of the point, and grind the 



TOOLS — FITTING UP AND USING. I7 

end beveling- so that it is brought to an edge upon one of the sides, and make 
that side smooth, and you have a nice turning-chisel, or graver. A pointed 
tool may be made for the same purpose by grinding the bevel upon a fiat side, 
making the terminus at one of the corners. 

Reamer of a File. — By fitting the heel to a bit-stock and grindmg all of 
the sides smooth, as represented in cut, you have a good reamer for enlarging 
the screw holes in hinges, and other irons. 

Cold CliiseSs, Puiiclies, etc. — A blacksmith by little work can convert 
old files into cold-chisels, scratch-awls, punches, small butcher-knives, screw- 
drivers, drills, twisted gimlet-bits, etc., which are worth twice as much as 
those you buy at the hardware store. 

Tempering Files for Cold Chisels, etc. — Heat the file gradually to 
a cherry red heat, then dip in water about one inch of the chisel's end, until it 
comes to a black heat, then rub with a rubber until you see a blue color, then 
quench it at once. 

Home Made Cold Chisel. — Generally speaking, it is cheaper to buy a 
cold chisel than to make one ; but still it is not always handy to do so. To make 
one at home, take a worn out fiat file, not very large ; break a piece out of the 
centre about six inches long ; heat it not quite to a red heat ; then put it into 
the warm ashes of the fire, and let it cool slowly. This will draw out the 
temper and make it comparatively soft. Now grind into the desired shape. At 
one end grind each broad side until it comes to an edge, not slim, but rather 
stubbed. Square the other end, and it is ready to temper again. 

To temper, heat the cutting end until an inch or so is red hot ; then touch the 
edge to cold water, a little at a time, until it is somewhat cool, watching closely, 
and when it takes on a bluish straw color plunge it into water all over. This 
will answer for cutting soft iron. While the edge will be hard, the upper part 
will be soft enough not to break by pounding upon it. If a blacksmith is handy 
he can make a cold chisel of the file much quicker and better upon his anvil, 
and the tool will be " hammer hardened " as well as properly tempered. 

The " poll "of an old ax, or even a drag tooth, driven into a large block, makes 
a very good thing to cut rivets, wires, nails, etc., upon, and will be found handy. 

To Prevent Handles Splitting.— To prevent handles (to be pounded 
upon) from splitting, where beauty is not sought, follow the shoemaker's plan, 
and pu* on the end, after sawing it off square, two round disks of sole leather. 
The two thicknesses of leather will prevent splitting, and if in the course of 
time they expand and overlap the wood of the handle, they are simply trimmed 
off all around. The leathers may be fastened with shoe nails. 

Hardening Fine Tools. — It is said that the engravers and watch- 
makers of Germany harden their tools in sealing wax. The tool is heated to 
whiteness and plunged into the wax, withdrawn after an instant and plunged in 
again, the process being repeated until the steel is too cold to enter the wax. 



l8 TOOLS — FITTING UP AND USING. 

To Select Sand Paper .^ — When buying sand paper, rub your finger 
upon the surface, to see if the sand is well secured ; then tear the edge of the 
paper to test +he strength. If badly made or rotten, don't take it. 

Mo^^'^ 1© Uiise Sand Paper. — If a single thickness of sand paper is to be 
used, wrap it around a block of wood, and better service is obtained than by 
holding it in the hand, especially upon an even surface. A sheet doubled to 
several thicknesses, and rubbing surface changed occasionally, will wear well. 

To MaRe a Level. — Dress out a piece of inch and a quarter plank, two 
feet long and four inches wide, and see that it is true. Take a small, short- 
necked vial and fill it with water and cork it so as to leave a little vacuum. 



/ 


d 


O 


P^ / 


1 ' liiBiii/ 



HOME MADE LEVEL. 



The cork should fill the neck lengthwise. Now as the bottle is turned upon its 
side, the "bubble " will pass from end to end as it is moved. Drive a tack at 
the center of each edge of the block, lay the vial on the flat surface-center and 
draw the string over the exact center of the large part of the vial, and tie it 
tight. Now, when the block is level, the "bubble" will be under the string, 
as illustrated. 

By setting this one foot from the ground surface and sighting across it, the 
decline of a field may be obtained. Deduct the one foot from height where 
sight strikes the opposite side of field. 

To Prove a Plumto L<evel. — When a plumb level has been purchased, 
it is always well to prove it in the perpendicular, for serious mistakes might 
occur if it were wrong. To prove it, drive a nail into a wall or post, leaving one 
inch projecting, and in such position that a plumb and line may swing free of 
obstruction. Then let a delicate line be suspended so that it will touch the most 
prominent part of the nail head. Then two or three feet below the nail, and 
exactly under it, insert a screw, and drive it up until the delicate fine, to which 
a bob has been attached, will just touch the most prominent points on the heads 
of the nail and screw, and you have two points perpendicular to one another. 
To these points apply your plumb rule, which, if true, will correspond. This 
is a quick and easy way to make the test. 

To MarR Steel T©ol§. — Warm them slightly and rub the steel with wax 
or hard tallow till a film gathers. Then scratch your name on the wax, cutting 
through to the steel. A little nitric acid poured on the marking will quickly eat 
out the letters. Wipe acid and wax off with a hot, soft rag, and the letters will 
be securely etched. 

How to Clrind Tools. — Plane irons should be ground to a bevel of about 
thirty-five degrees — chisels and gouges to thirty. Turning chisels may some- 



TOOLS — FITTING UP AND USING. I9 

times run to an angle of forty-five. Molding tools, such as are used for ivory 
and for very hard wood, are made at from fifty to sixty degrees. Tools for 
working iron and steel are beveled at an inclination to the edge of from sixty to 
seventy degrees, and for cutting gun and similar metal range from eighty to 
ninety. 

Mechanics claim and beheve that by holding on the grindstone all edge tools, 
so that the action of the stone is at right angles with the plane of the edge ; or 
in plainer words, by holding the edge of the tools square across the stone, the 
direction of the fibres will be changed so as to present the ends instead of the 
side as a cutting edge. By grinding in this manner a finer and smoother edge 
is set, the tool is ground in less time, holds an edge a great deal longer, it is 
said, and is less liable to " nick out " and break. 

Care of tlie Nail Hammer. — This tool should never be used for pound- 
ing stones, or any hard material. The face should be ground true and level, so 
that a line across the face will run parallel with a line cutting the middle of the 
handle. A hammer having a round face, when employed to drive nails, is very 
apt to bend the nails over before they are driven in, unless the head of the nail 
meets the centre of the face. A cobbler's hammer, with which few men can 
drive nails, is made with a convex face, so that the corners will not cut through 
leather. 

Grinding a Hammer. — When the face of a hammer becomes uneven, so 
that it is difficult to drive a nail true with it, put the face to a grindstone for 
awhile and the defect will be overcome. 

Care of tlie €rrindstone. — Keep your grinastone under shelter ; ex- 
posure to sun and rain will injure it more than ordinary use. 

To Face a Crriiidstoiie. — To keep a stone in order the wear should be 
equally distributed over its face. Neglect of this is chiefly experienced with 
narrow tools, which should be made to traverse across the face of the stone in 
grinding, care being taken to bring it quite to the edges of the stone, which 
would otherwise be hollowed out at the middle portion of its face and be spoiled 
for sharpening broad, flat tools. The same precaution generally needs to be 
taken in grinding axes, the edges of which are more or less curved, so that only 
a part comes in contact with the stone at one time. If the stone once becomes 
irregular or eccentric in its form, much labor will be required to make it true 
again. 

Water for Orindstone. — It is of course necessary that the stone should 
be kept wet when in use, otherwise it would draw the temper" of the tools be- 
fore it had turned around half a dozen times, but it is often the case — with 
farmers especially — that so much carelessness is shown in the means used for 
this purpose, that the stone, if ever so good at the outset, is soon spoiled. This 
comes from letting the lower part of the stone dip into the water when not in 
use. The water soaks and softens this portion, which consequently wears away 



20 TOOLS— FITTING UP AND USING. 

much quicker than the rest, and pretty soon the stone is out of true — a difficulty 
that always grows worse very fast. 

The best way is to hinge the water trough to one end of the grindstone frame 
and sustain the other by a strap with two holes to catch on a pin at the ad- 
jacent end of the frame. By catching the lower hole upon the pin, the trough 
will be raised so that the under side of the stone will be immersed ; and by let- 
ing down the trough and catching the upper hole upon the pin, the ^water will 
be brought out of contact with the stone, at the same time that the trough is 
held in position to be conveniently raised again when required. Both the strap 
and the hinges, which should be pretty strong, may be made of an old boot leg 
and fastened to their places with shingle nails. 

Truing of a Crrindstone. — Good work cannot be done upon a grindstone 
that wabbles. The first step toward putting a stone in proper order is, measure 
from the center of the eye to the surface, on four sides, for the purpose of de- 
termining whether the stone has been worn off more on one side than on the 
other. When a stone is driven by a treadle, a large part of the grinding is 
done on one side of the stone when the treadle is going down. In such a case, 
the stone should be re-hung, with the journal nearer one side of the eye than the 
center of it. 

If it wabbles from side to side, and is not supphed with iron attachments 
havmg screws, it may be adjusted by the use of wooden edges. 

Self SSiarpeiiiiig' Crrindstoiie. — The grindstone is said to be self sharp- 
ening. After having been turned in one direction for some time (if a hard 
stone), the motion should be reversed. Sand of the right grit applied occasion- 
ally to a hard stone will improve it. 




CHEAP WOOD CLAMPS. 



Cheap Wood Clamps. — Where one intends to do his own repairing, a 
very necessary requisite is a supply of clamps of different sizes. One can be 
made in five minutes, and its uses will be manifold. Particularly is it conven- 
ient in gluing articles together, or for holding two pieces in place to be scribed 
or bored. They may be made of boards or planks anywhere from half an inch 
thick to two or more inches, so as to clasp anything from a toy whistle to 
the bed of an ox cart. A very good size for furniture mending is made from a 



TOOLS — FITTING UP AND USING. 21 

Strip of board, say nine inches long and three inches wide. Two and a half 
inches from each end saw down from the edge halfway through the board and 
split out the piece. Now make a few blocks of different thicknesses, an inch 
•or so wide and three inches long, and a few wedges same width, four or five 
inches long, three quarter stuff, and tapering from one end to an edge at the 
■other, as represented in illustration. This will make the clamp outfit. The 
blocks may be used or not, according to the thickness of the article to be held 
in place. In gluing, always use this where it is possible, and key up firmly by 
use of the wedges. As before said, the clamps should be made of various 
sizes, and kept ready for use. 

Using- Tools on Wood. — All edge tools used upon wood should be 
applied with a side stroke, or, in other words, with a drawing stroke. The 
plane, instead of being pushed straight ahead on the broad surface of a board, 
should have a sweeping stroke. In drawing the shave one hand should be 
carried just a little in advance of the other, and the shave drawn with a slightly 
sliding stroke. The philosophy of this may be seen by testing the edge of a 
razor. A person may press his bare hand on the keen edge of a razor without 
■cutting the skin. But let the hand or the razor be drawn a trifle while pressure 
is being applied, and the cutting edge will enter with far less pressure. As 
some cutting instruments must be worked with a crushing or straight stroke, it 
is of great importance that the cutting edge be brought to as perfect an edge as 
practicable, by means of a fine gritted oil stone. 

Selecting a Screw Driver. — To be good, a screw driver should be 
neither too hard nor too soft. A very good test is to file the steel. If the file 
will not take hold, it is too hard. The file will also very quickly determine 
■whether or not it is too soft. I like one fitted to the bit stock better than those 
with handle. Power can be applied witii much less outlay of strength, on 
account of the leverage of the bit stock. 

Long and Sliort Screw Drivers. — It is generally believed that there 
is no difference in the driving power of a long and short screw driver ; but the 
editor of the Artisan thinks differently, as he made a test which appears to be 
conclusive. He selected a piece of very hard cherry timber, and bored a num- 
ber of uniform holes in the same ; then took screws of same size and a long and 
short screw driver to sink them with, using the same handle upon both. He 
iirst put in the screws as far as possible with the short screw driver ; then with 
the long screw driver he was able to force each screw considerably further into 
the wood. 

He then reversed the experiment. With the short screw driver, and with the 
utmost exertion, he could not start a single screw ; but with the long screw 
driver he took them all out. He next sought the cause of the difference, and 
found it in the crank-like action of the screw driver. 

To prove this he constructed a guide with holes bored therein, so as to keep 



22 TOOLS— FITTING UP AND USING. 

the screw driver always in line with the vertical axis of the screw. In this posi- 
tion the long screw driver had no perceptible advantage over the short one. He 
found that each screw driver would bear to be inclined at the same angle from, 
the vertical axis without losing its hold on the screws, but, of course, the longer 
the screw driver the further its upper end would be from this vertical line, and 
the greater its leverage would be, owing to the crank-like action or sweep 
about the vertical axis. 

Orindrng- a Screw Driver. — Grind with a long bevel, and not thinner 
than half a sixteenth of an inch on the edge ; after grinding, take a saw file and 
file two or three slight creases on each side parallel with, and as near the edge 
as possible, and you will find that you will not be troubled by the bit slipping 
out of the screw head. 

A screw driver works nicely also when ground slightly concaved on each side. 
This allows the end of the screw driver to rest upon the bottom of the kerf with- 
out any pressure on the top edges, and at the same time the slight curvature from 
the end up draws the screw driver toward the bottom of the kerf, instead of 
slipping out, as it is sure to do if ground beveling, after the common custom. 

In driving a screw into wood, the force used to press the screw driver against 
the head of the screw tends to aid the latter in penetrating the wood, but when, 
we attempt to extract a screw, every pound of pressure applied tends to render 
it more difficult to get the screw out. Therefore, it is important that the screw 
driver should be so formed that it may be kept in the nick of the screw by the 
exertion of the very least degree of force. 

With a screw driver in good order, there is no danger in tearing or splitting 
the head of the screw, and the whole strength may be applied to turning the 
bit instead of pressing against it to keep it in its place. 

Tempering a Screw Driver. — A dark or full blue secures a hard, but 
not brittle temper ; it will possess some elasticity, and can be cut by a file ; if 
tempered harder than this it will break. The proper temper can best be ob- 
tained by heating to a cherry red, cooling off in oil, and drawing on a hot bar 
3f iron until the proper color is reached, when it should be cooled off imme- 
diately by plunging it in cold water and oil. 

Selecting Krace and £lit§. — Wooden braces are preferable to iron ones^ 
generally speaking. They are more liable to be true in their action, and are not 
so cold to handle on a frosty day. 

Do not buy the pod bits. They are not so satisfactory as the auger or gimlet 
bits. The only advantage the pod has is in point of utility. I once had a set 
that had been in almost daily use for twenty years. 

In purchasing, see that the bits fit the stock firmly. Set the point of the bit 
on a block and turn the brace to see if there is a wabble. 

Selecting tlie JDraw Sliave. — For common use one of medium size 
should be selected. If preference is to be given either way, take the larger. 



TOOLS— FITTING UP AND USING. 23 

A small shave on a large, hard stick will spring and jump, while a large draw 
shave on small work is provokingly awkward. 

Pay a fair price for this tool, and buy it of a merchant who will warrant it to 
be good. A great deal can be told by the " feel " when holding the shave in 
imaginary use. Do not buy an adjustable handle shave. You must have the 
handles always the same to do close work. 

T!ie Benctt Vl§e. — Carpenters and joiners commonly use what is called 
the side vise. One jaw is brought by a screw against the side of the bench. 
For general purposes the vise should extend above the bench about eight inches. 
It may be of either wood or iron, but in the home repair shop, and especially 
for the use of boys, the wood is preferable to iron, as tools will not be broken 
or dulled upon it. Iron plates can be put upon the insides of the jaws when 
they become worn. 

Tlie Jack M.iiife. — As the pocket knife takes an active position in the 
bench outfit, a few hints respecting it will not be amiss. In purchasing, do not 
take a two bladed knife if the blades are placed one in each end, for such a 
knife will not stand hard usage. To make the blades shut into the handle lap- 
ping by each other, they must be set at an angle ; therefore, are not true with the 
handle, and sufficient leverage is given when whittling to break the blades off 
at the base. 

As the pocket knife comes from the store, its edge is unfit for use ; it may 
cut soft wood, but it will not sharpen lead pencils. Use a good oil stone for 
sharpening. The motion for whetting or honing ^hould be ciicuLr; not as in 
stropping a razor, merely back and forth. Tiie caacatcd fingers will readily 
feel when the blade bears properly on the surface of the stone, and will guard 
against the mere abrasion of the back and the cutting in of the edge. 

Selecting Hand Saw§. — More can be done with the hands than the 
eyes in selecting a saw. First, choose one of the right size, which is a medium, 
and then put it to test with the hands. See that the blade is of even thickness. 
The fingers are the best guides in this matter ; by passing the saw blade be- 
tween the thumb and forefinger, or laying the blade on a smooth board and 
passing the palm of the hand over it quickly, the slightest unevenness can be 
detected. 

The blade should be elastic. By taking hold of the handle and holding it so 
that the side of the blade is up, and givmg it a rapid motion, you can easily 
satisfy yourself. If the motion is quick, even and light, you need not fear ; but 
if there be stiffness, and an irregular motion, you may depend upon it, the 
blade is not of good material. 

Temper is the main thing in holding edge or set, and the color of the blade 
is a good indication of its temper. Select one as near the color of the clear air 
in the distance as you can, as that generally will prove to have a good sprin!j* 
temper, A glass color is too hard, and a dark or lead color is too soft. 



24 



TOOLS— FITTING UP AND USING. 



Hoi^J^ to Set a Hand §a^w". — This may be done by laying the blade upon 
a piece of hard wood plank, and bending the teeth with a hammer and punch. 
The punch or set can be made best by breaking off both ends of a three-cor- 
nered file and grinding the small end flat and true, as illustrated on page i6. 
Set the punch square upon the tooth, but inclined a little over the point, and hit 
it a light blow with the hammer. Every other tooth should be bent in. this 
manner, then the saw turned over and the operation repeated. The set in the 
saw before the work is begun will be the guide as to the direction the tooth is 
to be bent, A very good rule to govern the setting, is to bend the teeth half 
the thickness of the blade. 

Joiiitisig a Hand Saw. — If the saw previous to setting is inclined to 
catch and jump, one of three things is the matter : the set is uneven, a few 
teeth are longer than the rest, or they have been filed hooking. Either of these 
trouble.5 can easily be detected and remedied. If, by looking along the teeth 
from end to end, an unevenness is seen upon the sides, lay the blade upon 

some flat iron, and strike gently with 
a hammer upon the teeth until all 
the set is taken out, and then set it 
as above directed. 

If, after the saw is properly set, 
some of the teeth are found to \)t 
longer than others, run a fine flat file 
over the points lengthwise until they 
are all brought to a length, after the 
manner of illustration. The saw is 
now ready for filing. The saw should be kept about one-eighth of an inch 
rounding, and never be allowed to get hollowing. 

To File a Hand Sa^v. — Hand saws are filed in two ways, one with the 
teeth beveling, for cutting across the grain of wood, and the other for ripping, 
with the grains across their ends. For ordinary purposes the common, beveled 
tooth hand saw will answer all requirements. 

The file should be put between the teeth diagonally, but held level. Every 
other space should be filed from both sides. Keep a uniform bevel clear 
through, and do not allow the file to cut on return. Always do the filing where 
there is plenty of light, and the first time through, do not bring the tooth quite 
up to a sharp edge, as the second time through will take off a little steel. Be 
exceedingly careful to stop filing as soon as the tooth is filed to a complete 
point. One thrust with the file, after the tooth has been brought to a perfect 
edge, will shorten it, and put the saw out of order just in proportion as the point 
is filed off. 

After this is done, look across the teeth lengthwise of the blade, and if the V 
shaped channel between the rows of teeth terminates in the centre of the blade. 




JOINTING A HAND SAW. 



TOOLS — FITTING UP AND USING. 2$ 

the filing is good ; but if it terminates at one side of the center, the full side 
requires more filing. 

A saw of ordinary length should be kept crowning about an eighth of an inch. 
That is, in sighting across the points of its teeth from end to end, there should 
be a gradual elevation to the center, amounting to an eighth of an inch. This 
will counterbalance the natural rocking motion given the saw when in use. 

If the saw catches and jumps, after filing as directed, it is owing to the teeth 
being filed too hooking, or, jh other words, the points incline too much towards 
the small end of the saw. This can be remedied by re-filing and taking off 
enough to make the teeth stand upright. 

In filing a rip saw, it is only necessary to carry the file in conformity to the 
original shape of the teeth ; but it is a good plan to file the first six or eight 
inches, from the point, somewhat beveling. This will obviate the necessity of 
having to change saws when a knot is reached m splitting a hard wood plank. 
Simply elevate the saw, and the knot is mastered without trouble. 

After filing, lay the blade flatly on a smooth board, and pass a fine gritted 
whetstone along the sides of the points, to remove the wiry edge and to give the 
teeth as fine a cutting edge as possible. 

To Reiaiedy a Kinked Saw. — When a hand saw hgis become warpea 
or kinked, it should be rolled, to entirely remedy the defect, but where the tool 
is old, or a saw repair-shop cannot be reached handily, the blade may be bene- 
fited to a great degree by laying it upon some hard and level surface, like the 
face of a blacksmith's anvil, and taking a good sized round faced hammer, and 
striking a series of blows from handle to small end through the center. If once 
through does not work the desired change, repeat. 

Tiglitening Back-Saws. — Old back-saws are often improved by hitting 
the end of the back-bar a smart blow with a common hand hammer, 

Orease for Saws. — Animal oil is the best lubricator and preserver for the 
blade of a saw. Vegetable oils become gummy and should not be used. A 
fresh pork rind answers a good purpose. 

Drills for Iron. — To do good work, and to insure utility, the drill should 
be no larger than the use to which it is put absolutely requires, and care is to be 
exercised in getting the tool of the right temper. If too soft it will not take 
hold, and if too hard breakage is likely to be the result. Further than this, for 
use upon different metals there may be a difference in temper. It is not a diffi- 
cult job to put a drill in i oo 1 condition. It can be done at the stove or gas jet 
by following the directions given. 

How to Temper a I>riSl. — If the drill is a small one, hold it in a jet of 
gas, or blaze of an alcohol lamp, till a cherry-red heat appears ; then dip the 
point, or as far up as you wish it tempered, into water or oil immediately. Then 
try if a smooth file v^ill bite or file it ; if it does, it must be done over again ; 
but if it does not bite, but slips over the face without making any impression 
on it, it will do. 



26 NAILS AND NAILING. 

Next, clean the point or side of the face carefully on an oil-stone ; then twist 
a piece of wire around the end of the drill, or hold the end of the drill, in 
pliers, in a candle or gas-light, till you see it (on the clean piece of the face) 
gradually turn from a light to a dark straw color ; withdraw from the heat, and 
allow it to cool gradually. 

If it goes past the dark straw color to a blue, it will be rather soft, and must 
be dipped in water or oil at once, or else the process gone over again. The 
above dark straw color will bore brass beautifully. If it is to bore steel or iron, 
have it as hard as when it comes out of the water or oil in the first process ; 
but care needs to be taken with it, if verv small, in that condition, as it is very 
brittle. Large drills can be heated in the stove. 

Lubricators for I>riil§. — Do not use oil as a lubricator when drilling 
steel ; water is much better. All that is required is to keep the drill cool. 

A solution of camphor in spirits of turpentine is one of the best lubricators 
for steel tools employed for cutting, or rather abrading glass. A file moistened 
with camphorated turpentine acts rapidly on glass, and by means of a steel drill 
moistened with the same liquid, we have frequently bored holes through thick 
plates of glass. 



NAILS AND NAILING. 



Lengths of Nails. — A correct list of the lengths of different sized nails 
cannot be given, nor can the number contained in a pound, as different manu- 
factories vary sizes and lengths somewhat ; but the following will answer all 
practical purposes : 

Three-penny nails, one inch long ; four-penny, one and a half ; live-penny, 
one and three quarters ; six-penny, two inches ; seven-penny, two and one 
fourth ; eight-penny, two and one half ; ten-penny, two and three fourths to 
three inches ; twelve-penny, three and one eighth ; twenty-penny, three and one 
half; spike, from four to seven inches. The three-penny are lath, and the four- 
penny shingle nails. Fence nails are heavier than the common cut nails. They 
are eight-penny, and the number in a pound varies from eighty-three to one 
hundred and one. Eight-penny finishing nails have one hundred and thirty to 
forty per pound. Shingle nails, about three hundred and fifty ; and lath nails 
about five hundred and fifty per pound. 

Striving Mails in Hard IkVood. — Nails may be driven into hard wood 
by first touching the small end to grease. A piece of lard or tallow may be 
carried upon the boot for this purpose. . When building board fences, etc., out 
of dry and hard lumber, the use of grease will be found an important aid. 



NAILS AND NAILING. 2/ 

Annealings Cut Nails. — By experiment I have found the best method of 
annealing nails to be heating them red hot and then dropping them into cold 
water. I have tried dropping them into linseed oil, but to no advantage. I 
have also annealed by heating and allowing them to cool slowly in ashes. By 
the last process they are made quite tough, but a little too tender for use in hard 
wood. By cooling in linseed oil the nails will not oxidize or rust, and for some 
uses this is an important item ; but there will be found a little more difficulty in 
driving, as the hammer is more likely to glance from an oily head. 

To Keep Xails from Rusting. — Nails for garden use or for trailing 
vines, where driven only part way, and subjected to air and moisture, are liable 
to rust. After they have begun to oxidize it is almost impossible to stop them. 
They should be previously prepared for the position. To make them secure 
against rust, mix a pint of linseed oil with two ounces of black lead, stirring 
until the whole is thoroughly incorporated ; heat the nails red hot and steep 
them in the mixture. They should then be well drained and shaken up in an 
old nail bag until dry. The linseed oil and black lead cover them with a film 
of varnish which is impervious to wet. The above proportions will serve for a 
very large quantity. 

If the black lead and linseed oil are not easily obtained, heat the nails and 
throw them into any coarse grease. The latter process is not so effectual as the 
first, but will answer very well. The grease used should not contain a particle 
of salt. 

Value of One Nail. —One nail may prove of great value if u'^ed upon 
the fence or building as soon as it is demanded. A board that has become 
loosened soon begins to clatter in the wind, and if neglected long, it disconnects 
itself, falls off, and perhaps is split or carried away, and the necessary repair is 
increased a hundred fold in point of expense, and putting in its place another 
board makes an unsightly spot. It will pay richly to use a nail as soon as it is 
demanded. 




CONVENIENT NAIL BOX. 



To make a Xail Box. — At every house there should be a nail box with 
several compartments, so that different sized nails and screws may be carried to 
any point where their uses are required. 

A very good size is fifteen inches long, ten inches wide, and four inches deep. 
In the center have a hand piece, as illustrated, and divide the sides into four 
sections each. Make the box of light material — white wood, three quarters of 



28 FINISHING WOOD WORK. 

an inch thick, for bottom, ends and hand piece, and half inch stuff for the balance 
of the box, will answer. A handy nail box well supplied is a great convenience, 
and saves many steps when doing repairs about the premises. 

To I>raw a filu§ty IVail. — To draw a nail from wood after it has be- 
come rusted, first hit it a blow with a hammer sufficiently hard to start it in a 
little. This breaks its oxidized connection with the wood. By bearing this in 
mind a good many little annoyances may be avoided. 



FINISHING WOOD WORK. 



Putty for ScreAV HoIe§. — The greatest trouble that unskilled workmen 
find in finishing work is to entirely remove all show of nail and screw holes. 
Putty, unless rightly put in, answers a very poor purpose, especially where the 
work is ever to be exposed to heat. Heat expands iron, and the nail or screw 
head will lift putty and make it show a prominence on the surface of the work. 

Plug'g'ing Screw HoSes, — Tacks or small nails may be driven so deep, 
that putty will not necessarily reach the head, leaving a vacuum for the expan- 
.sion ; but for large nails or screws, the plugging mode is the best. Sink the 
screw at least one-fourth of an inch below the surface, then square the hole, 
.and insert a plug of the same wood precisely as that in which the incision is 
made, and have the wood exactly correspond ; /. <?., the grains to run the same 
way. Fit the plug with beveling side, so tight that when it is driven in solid, it 
■will not quite reach, the head of the nail or screw. 

Apply glue to the side of the plug before driving, and when well set, plane off 
the surface, and sand paper until the surface is level and smooth. 

Puttying" Nail Holes. — Where putty is used, it will be found an advan- 
tage to sand paper and paint thoroughly before filling the cavities, as dust of 
wood will partly fill the holes and prevent the putty setting in a solid bed upon 
the iron heads, and will be less liable to get lifted by expansion. 

Another good way is to wet the wood around the nail head after it has been 
punched in ; this will cause the broken fibers of wood to expand. After the 
■wood becomes dry, sand paper and paint two coats before puttying, then paint 
over the putty before it becomes dry, and allow all to dry together. 

Where large checks or cavities are to be filled with putty, the use of hot glue 
will greatly add to its durability. Moisten the putty with glue, just as it is. 
inserted, and do not attempt to smooth until it is thoroughly hardened. 

Craeli§ in Varnislied Articles. — Where there are cracks or holes to be 
filled in plain varnished articles {i. <?., not painted), make some fine dust of the 
same kind and colored wood ; mix this with hot glue until it forms a paste, and 
crowd the interstices a little more than full ; wipe the surface of the article 



PREPARING AND WORKING TIMBER. 2^ 

being repaired, clean all around this, and let the glue dry firmly ; then rub down 
and polish until the surface is even. This work may be easily and nicely per- 
formed by almost any one. 

Protecting- Joint*^. — Almost every framed article or implement of wood 
that is exposed to the weather first shows decay and weakness at the joints,, 
and at these places the first breakage occurs. This teaches a lesson of the 
importance of making good, tight joints in wood work. The closer wood fits 
to wood the better, but it is wise in all cases to cover the tenon of a stick, before 
putting the work together, with good white lead paint of the proper consistency, 
being sure that the shoulders get a coating also. 

If sufficient paint is put in to fill and cement all space that would otherwise 
be left, the spot is more certainly proof against the penetration of moisture 
than if the dependence were placed entirely upon tight or pressing joints. 

If the tenons are made to fit closely, and the shoulders come up squarely, 
working at the joints is less liable, of course, to take place, and the advantage 
of this can be readily seen. Paint applied to exposed wood work, is one of the 
best investments a man can make in the line of economy. Gates, lattice work, 
and everything of the kind, will last many years longer, if first put together as 
above suggested, and then kept coated with good oil paint. 

Taking- Out Plane Marks. — When it is desired to take out all of the 
plane marks from a board, three ways may be adopted. If the board is not too 
wide, a flat file may be used across the grain of the wood upon the surface of 
the board. It should be a fine file, one designed for filing iron or mill saws. 
Sand paper on a block used across the grain first, then lengthwise, is good, also 
lump pumice stone having a smooth surface. 



PREPARING AND WORKING TIMBER. 



The Orain§ of Timber. — There is something indescribable in the grains 
of timber that denotes firmness or elasticity, and only an experienced eye can 
detect the difference betwen the brash and the tough to a certainty. Many 
suppose that when the lines of annual growth are far apart, that the wood is 
tough, but that is not a positive indication, for I have seen white ash with the 
annual growths measuring half an inch when the wood was as brittle as clay. 
In view of this fact, it is well for every one to make timber grains something of 
a study, as it better enables one to make proper selections when purchasing 
wood articles of any kind. 

Selecting- Oood Oak. — When selecting this wood for whippletrees, etc.,. 
choose that in which the concentric rings are close, thick, and uniform ; and has,. 



30 PREPARING AND WORKING TIMBER. 

when cut, a glossy, varnish-like appearance, and is of a pale yellow or straw 
color. That which has a bluish tinge is generally tough, but is apt to be elastic 
or springy. 

Ash is second only to oak in usefulness and durability. That which has 
grown on rich marsh lands is considered best. 

Seasoning' Timber. — The seasoning of timber may be greatly advanced 
by boiling it. When taken from the water do not leave it exposed to the air, 
for it will check. If wanted for a special use, where an extra nice finish is de- 
sired, the continued process, as given below, has been recommended : After the 
first boiling in clear water it should be again boiled in a solution of borax water, 
by which the albumen of the wood is rendered soluble, and escapes from the 
pores. The wood is then placed in drying chambers heated by steam, and 
allowed to remain three days. Wood thus treated is described as being more 
compact than it would be by ten years of ordinary exposure — not shrinking or 
warping, and being secure against decay on account of its greater density. It is 
more easily polished, and better fitted for articles of furniture or for musical 
instruments. When the wood is cooling, after being taken from the water, it 
should be covered, so as to prevent checking, from the action of the atmosphere, 
upon the surface. 

To Prevent Powder-post. — Common coal oil, such as is used for 
burning in lamps, is claimed to be a perfect protection to timber against the 
ravages of worms, when applied freely. With its use, the trouble of having^ 
wood powder-posted is successfully averted. 

Steaming and Bending Timber. — Any one who has even a small 
workshop need not be to the expense of taking broken implements to the shop 
of a wagon-maker or other mechanic, because bent stuff is required to make 
the repairs ; nor is it necessary to make a steam-box, for all small pieces may 
be nicely bent without the use of one. 

The piece to be bent should first be dressed to nearly the proper size and 
shape for using, and should be of good timber. This matter of quality is not 
only important to make the bending successful, but the best of wood should 
always be used in the making or repairing any kind of implement. 

How to Soften IVood. — Small sticks may be made sufficiently soft and 
elastic by simply letting them lie in hot water for a short time. A common 
stove boiler answers a good purpose, and advantage may be taken of washing 
days with convenience. 

To render large pieces of wood pliable, bury them in sawdust, and pour boil- 
ing water upon the same. A long, narrow box is the best for this purpose. 
Put in a few inches of sawdust, then lay on the sticks to be bent, and cover 
with some three inches of dust. Pour on boiling water plentifully, and let the 
sticks remain for half an hour. If the box is covered, the steam will be retained 
for that length of time with great heat from a single wetting. 



PREPARING AND WORKING TIMBER. 



31 



Cbeap Steam Box. — Where a steam box is required, it may be made 
by any one, and at trifling expense, as illustrated. 

For the box, take four boards ten feet long and ten inches wide, or twelve feet 
long and twelve inches wide, as preferred. One end is nailed in solid, the other 
so as to open by hinges, or simply to take out by means of a handle, but it 




A CHEAP STEAM BOX. 



should be made to fit tight. Elevate this box upon legs or trestles, as preferred. 
Cut a hole in bottom four inches square, and nail together a square tube to fit 
the hole and extend down into the tight wooden cover of a common stove pot 
or kettle. The kettle can rest upon stones. By boiling water in the pot the 
box will be filled with steam. 

How to Bend Timber. — To make a form to bend upon, shape a piece 
of plank (two-inch will do) just as you wish the concaved side of the article bent 
to be, and pin this upon the flat surface of a slab or poor plank, near one edge ; 
then about two inches from the block bore a line of inch auger holes on the 
same curve, about six inches apart ; make a set of hard wood pins to fit these 
holes closely, but so that they may be removed, and prepare a number of 




FORM FOR BENDING TIMBER. 

wedges of different thicknesses. The head pin may, however, be made sta- 
tionary. 

A piece of hoop iron may be used upon the convex surface to prevent the 
slivers rising or the grain of the timber giving away. If the hoop iron is long 
enough to reach the whole length of the stick, so much the better. The end of the 
iron may be bent over the ends of the stick and tacked there. The fitting should 



32 PREPARING AND WORKING TIMBER. 

be done before steaming. If the iron only reaches over the part to be bent, 
have a hole through the iron at one end, and with a short screw fasten it to the 
stick so that the ends of iron and wood will be even ; then steam and bend. 
The lower end will be held firm at first by pin, and wood and iron will bend to- 
gether, completing a nice job. 

When the stick to be bent is sufficiently steamed, take it quickly from the 
bed or water ; place the end between the pin and form ; drive in a wedge to ; 
make it firm, if the pins do not come close against the wood, or hoop iron over 
it ; then bend carefully, but quickly, around, putting in pins and wedges, if 
wedges are needed, as fast as possible, until the stick is closely keyed up. Let 
it He in the form until it is thoroughly dry, and it will not spring back. Cross 
grained or green timber should not be used. 

As a rule, half an hour boiling or steaming will soften a stick two inches 
square sufficiently to bend. Timber, that is naturally tough and flexible will 
require less steaming than that which is more inclined to be brittle. 

Hoiwr to Splice a SttcSi.. — By knowing how to splice one may fre- 
quently save expense and time. Timbers may be joined, poles lengthened, 
wagon or carriage tongues repaired, and smaller articles without number be 



STRAIGHT LINE SPLICE. 

spliced. The illustration will show how it is done most effectually, even better 
than any worded description. 

The straight fine method represented is easy to do, and if bolted in large 
articles, or glued and screwed up in light, the splice will be very strong. The 
second is more difficult to make, but is preferable where there is to be pulling 




THE BRACING SPLICE. 



upon the end. To make the latter, frame one side first and then scribe the 
other to it. It must be put together sidewise, and may be held by binding with 
wire, bolting, or having bands shrunken upon it. 

Where a new piece of wood is spliced to a finished article, do not try to 
shape the new piece in conformity to the other until the splicing is done. Bolt, 
screw, or glue together, then work off the new piece into proper shape. If the 
bolts interfere, take out one at a time as that part where it belongs is reached, 
in the process of finishing, and return as fast as completed. 

I^plitting^ Timber. — To split a stick or block, begin work at the end that 
was uppermost in the growth. To prevent a block or plank splitting or checking- 



PREPARING AND WORKING TI?.1BER. 33 

at the ends when seasoning, saturate muriatic acid with lime, and apply like 
whitewash to the ends. The chloride of calcium attracts moisture from the air, 
and prevents the splitting. 

To Prevent 1¥ood from Cracking, — It is often desirable to keep 
small wooden articles, such as taps and faucets, from cracking by exposure to 
alternations of temperature and other causes. This is best prevented, says the 
Artisan, by putting the articles in melted paraffine, and heating them at a 
temperature of 212*^ Fahrenheit, until bubbles of air cease to escape from the 
wood. The whole is then allowed to cool to about 120° Fahrenheit, when the 
articles are taken from the bath and cleaned from the adhering paraffine by 
rubbing with a dry, coarse piece of cloth. 

PrepariBig' Wood for Heat. — It is said that wood work that is to be 
exposed to fire may be made almost incombustible by soaking in water in which 
a small quantity of alum and sulphate of copper have been dissolved. Six 
ounces of each is enough for a barrel of water. 

Preservation of Wood. — Common pine or even basswood may be ren- 
dered almost indestructible, it is said, by soaking in a solution composed of one 
part blue vitriol and twenty of water. 

A French railway contractor announces a method of treating planks, etc., 
that greatly enhances their value. He piles the lumber in a tank, and then 
covers thickly with quicklime. Water is slowly added till the lime is slaked. 
In about a week the wood becomes impregnated, and is ready for use. Timber 
prepared in this way has been used in mines and other exposed constructions 
with good results. 

Dr. Feuchwanger gives an account of experiments made by him for the pres- 
ervation of wood. He says that wood boiled first in lime water, and then coated 
with silicate of soda, or liquid glass, will last a very long time. The mixture is 
fifteen per cent, alkali and ten per cent, pure sand. 

Siirinliage of "^^ood. — People not professional mechanics have but little 
idea how greatly timber supposed to be seasoned will shrink. Some kinds of 
wood will shrink every time the surface is dressed off. Boards and planks that 
have been kept under shelter for years, when dressed out and employed as cas- 
ing, or for making doors, will often shrink enough to form unsightly cracks at 
every joint. Lumber that has been sawed for several years even, should never 
be worked up into elegant articles before it has been kiln-dried or exposed, for 
at least two weeks, to the scorching sunshine and drying winds. 

Hard Coating for Wood. — The following is the German mode for 
coating wood with a substance that will become as hard as stone : Forty parts 
chalk, fifty of resin, and four of linseed oil, melted together ; to this add one 
part of oxide of copper, and afterward one part of sulphuric acid — the last 
should be added with great care. Apply with a brush while the mixture is 
hot. 



34 HOW TO MORTISE AND TENON. 

HOW TO MORTISE AND TENON. 



How to Lay Out tlie Work. — To lay out the work, carpenters employ 
what is called the double gauge, but it may be done with the single gauge ; and 
I will try and make the process so simple that the amateur will be able to make 
a fair job. 

First square the two sticks to be joined at right angles, and mark a face side 
upon each. We will imagine the stuff to be united, inch and a half thick and 
three inches wide. With the try-square and sharp-pointed scratch-all, or a 
pointed jack-knife blade, make two lines upon the surface of the stick to be 
mortised just as wide apart as the width of the stick to be tenoned. Do not 
try to measure with a rule for this ; after making one Kne, set the stick to that, 
and scribe the width to a hair's breadth. 

Now with the try-square carry the lines across the face edge and on to the 
opposite side of the stick. 



MORTISE AND TENON LAID OUT, 



Next, with the try-square, mark completely around the stick to be tenoned 
far enough from the end to allow the tenon to project through at least a quarter 
of an inch. Both sticks are now ready for the gauge. 

Set the gauge at half an inch and mark across the double lines of the stick 
to be mortised, on both sides, rubbing the head of the gauge against the face 
edge of the stick. Next on both edges of the tenon stick, and run gauge 
marks connecting them across the end. Now set the gauge one inch wide and 
go over the same process again, and your sticks are laid out for a half inch mor- 
tise and tenon, as illustrated. 

How to Beat the Mortise. — With a three-eight bit, bore between the 
gauge mark a row of holes from line to line, but sink the bit only half way 
through the stick. Turn the piece over and bore from the opposite side holes 
to meet the first. Now fasten the stick in the vise, if short, if not lay it upon 
the bench, and, sitting close up to the bit holes, beat out the mortise with three- 
eight chisel half way through, then turn and mortise from other side. 



HINTS ABOUT SCREWS. 35 

Finish up carefully with a broad and narrow chisel well sharpened, and do 
not work a particle beyond the marks. 

How to Make the Tenon. — Next with a fine back-saw, and the stick 
screwed in the vise, saw the shoulders for the tenon. Run the saw slowly and 
carefully, seeing that it follows the scratch marks perfectly, until the gauge lines 
are reached. 

If the timber is cross grained it will be necessary to saw down the gauge lines 
from the end also, but if free, split off the greater part of the sides, then bevel 
the edges with chisel until the bevel reaches the gauge lines, and then flatten 
the tenon by use of the draw shave or a sharp chisel. Now the work is ready 
to go together. Chamfer the end corners of the tenon a little and drive the 
parts up. If the shoulder is not perfect, it will be necessary to fit up with a saw. 

To Saw Up tlie Joint. — Run the back-saw down between the shoulder, 
and mortise, on both sides, being careful not to go below the gauge lines. 
Knock apart a little to see that the slioulder is cut quite down, blow out the 
dust, and drive up again. This will be very likely to complete the joint. 

How to Draw Bore. — After the tenon is well fitted, knock the sticks 
apart and bore a quarter-inch hole through the mortise, from side to side, and 
within an inch or less of the shoulder edge. Drive the tenon in again up snugly 
and with a slim awl prick a series of holes upon the tenon, through the bit 
hole, completely around the circle. Knock apart again and bore with same bit 
at the point where the awl marks are made, but an eighth of an inch nearer 
the shoulder. Now put the work together to stay. 

Make a pin three or four inches long, of tough, hard timber, well tapered, 
and of the right size at upper end to fit the bit hole tightly, and drive this in. 
It will draw the shoulder up firmly. It is well to assist it by placing a block 
alternately each side of the end of the tenon and hitting it smart blows with a 
hammer as the pin is driven. 

Where the tenon stick is to stand at a corner, but a half tenon is to be made, 
that ij half the width, there being three shoulders made, one on the edge, and 
the mortise half the length of the other. 



HINTS ABOUT SCREWS. 



HOAV to Select Screws. — When buying screws, notice what you are get- 
ting, for there are poor, as well as good kinds. See that the heads are sound 
and well cut, that there are no flaws in the body or thread part, and that they 
have good gimlet points. A screw of one make will drive into oak as easily as 
others into pine, and endure having twice the force brought upon it. 



36 USES OF RIVETS AND BOLTS. 

Scre^v§ vs. IVails. — A good supply of screws, of various lengths and sizes, 
should be kept, for in very many places where nails are commonly used screws 
would be very much better. Screws will hold two pieces of wood more rigidly 
than nails ; and if the timber should shrink a trifle, the screws can be turned 
tight ; whereas it is difficult in most instances to tighten loose work with 
nails in places where there is an unusual strain on the parts to be held 
together. By the gross they can be purchased very cheap, and in the long run, 
found no more expensive in many places than nails. 

To Make Scre^vs Hold. — Screws may be made to hold in soft wood or 
where the cut has become too large, by the use of glue. Prepare the glue 
thick, immerse a stick about half the size of the screw, and put it into the 
hole ; then immerse the screw, and drive it home as quickly as possible. When 
there is some article of furniture to be repaired, and no glue is to be had 
handily, insert the stick and fill the rest of the cavity with pulveriz-^d resin ; then 
heat the screw sufficiently to melt the resin as it is driven in. 

In broken plastered wall the best plan is to enlarge the hole to about twice 
the diameter of the screw, fill it with plaster of paris, such as is used for fasten- 
ing the tops of lamps, etc., and bed the screw in the soft plaster. When the 
plaster has set the screw will be held very firmly. 

To Start a Rusty Scre^v. — First clear the cut in the screw head, and 
see that the driver is in good condition ; then place the whole strength upon 
the instrument, and give quick, earnest turns upon the driver handle. If it 
does not start then, place a nail punch upon the head and give it two or three 
smart blows ; if it still resists, hold a hot iron upon the head until the screw is 
well heated, and the desired result will almost invariably follow. 

To Prevent Scre^vs Rusting. — If screws are warmed and dipped in 
melted tallow or raw linseed oil, it will prevent their rusting, and they can 
always be unscrewed with ease. A large quantity of screws can be greased in 
a few minutes, and the operation is one which will result in a great saving of 
time and labor. 



USES OF RIVETS AND BOLTS. 



Carria§fe Bolts. — As a common thing, carriage bolts are better to use 
about the premises than rivets, and yet there are places where bolts will not 
answer, on account of the prominence of head and nut. 

Why Rivets Oive Way. — People are very often bothered by the breaking 
or slipping of rivets in machinery and other places, and do not know a remedy. 
The trouble usually arises from the rivet hole in iron being too sharp upon the 
edge, and from the rivet head being too flat upon the under side. 



USES OF RIVETS AND BOLTS. 37 

The most of the heading tools used by blacksmiths in rivet making are 
rounded on the surface, so that the under sides of the heads are left concave. 
This brings the outer edge of the head upon the surface to which it is to be 
drawn, and the rivet has a chance, when brought to a heavy strain, to extend 
a little, which will prevent breaking. 

The rivet is usually made of softer iron than that upon which it is to be 
headed down ; consequently, if the edge of the rivet hole is left sharp, when the 
tension comes, the soft iron is cut away by the harder edge, and the work 
loosened. 

To Make Rivets Hold, — Countersinking the hole upon the surface is 
the only remedy to be used in the last case spoken of, and but little of that need 
be done ; a common countersink, which may be bought at any hardware store 
for ten or fifteen cents, or the home-made one illustrated on page i6, and used 
in a bit-stock, is all that is required by way of tools. Rivets subject to a shear- 
ing or side-way strain, do not require this caution, as they then only need head- 
ing enough to keep the work in place. 

Pressed vs. Forged Rivets. — The pressed, or " sale rivets," are not as 
good as those made at the anvil ; at least, I have never been able to find any 
equal to the home-made, and would therefore advise that where iron work is to 
be put together, or wood upon iron is to be secured in safety, that the workman 
go to some good blacksmith, and have the rivets made of tough, soft iron, such 
as nail-rod or Swedes iron ; and see, too, that they are made as they should be. 

Rivets for Hoops. — Rivets of any desirable size or length, for riveting 
hoop iron, sheet iron, band iron, or anything else where a bolt could not conven- 
iently be used, can be obtained for about ten or fifteen cents per pound ; and a 
few rivets, with a pound of hoop iron, will save many a dime, and even dollars, 
in hooping pails, tubs, etc., which would otherwise fall to pieces and be worth- 
less. 

Tire Bolts as Rivets. — Where iron is to be fastened to iron, or to wood, 
and a smooth surface must be kept upon one side, tire bolts may be used with 
the heads sunken to a level with the surface, by use of the countersink. 

Tire bolts, neatly made from one inch to three inches long, can be purchased 
for a trifle, and they are neater, truer, and have a nut fitting better than any 
blacksmith is able to make by hand. 

Ho^v to Put ill Holts. — The hole bored for a bolt should be so small 
that the square portion of the bolt will drive in firmly enough to prevent turn- 
mg when screwing down the nut. Nothing is more provoking than to get the 
burr half way down the thread, and have the bolt turn. The. nut can neither be 
screwed down nor removed without a good deal of trouble. 

If obliged to use a bit too large, from not having a smaller one, put a piece 
of hard wood on the sides of the bolt, so as to make it drive firmly. 

Do not screw a nut tight enough to crush the wood by the squeeze of 



38 MITER WORK. 

the bolt. When you draw until the head sets below the surface of the wood 
that moment you commence destroying the fiber of the wood and aid the pre- 
mature rotting at that one point ; for, no matter how nicely painted or how 
neatly puttied up, there will soon be a cavity for the retention of a few drops 
of water. 

To Remove a Rusty j^iit. — Place the head of an ax or other solid sub- 
stance on one side of the nut, and give a few smart blows with a hammer on 
the other. Or hold an ax against one side, then place a cold chisel as you 
would to cut the nut through to the bolt ; give a few light taps on the chisel 
which will expand and loosen the nut without injuring it. 

Wetting with spirits of turpentine or coal oil will also be a benefit. Short,, 
sudden jerks upon the wrench will have a better effect upon the nut than steady 
pulling. 



MITER WORK. 



To Make a Hiter Box.— A miter box is handy for making right angle 
joints in place of framing pieces together, as for instance, joining picture frames, 
either in making new or cutting down. The box is easily made. Take a piece 
of board eighteen inches long, about one inch thick, for bottom, and two side 
pieces same length and thickness, four inches wide. Nail the two narrow pieces 
upon the edges of the bottom piece, and it is ready to be laid out and cut. 




THE MITER BOX. 



If the open box is just six inches wide, measure three inches from center of 
each side piece, and then draw cross lines as represented in cut. Line down 
the sides by use of the try-square, and then saw down upon these lines until 
the bottom board is reached. This sawing should be carefully done. The 
miter box is now complete. 

To Saw a Miter. — Place the stick in the box with the edge held firmly 
against one side of the box, and run the saw down in the kerf until the stick is 
severed. By sawing two sticks thus, you make a miter of perfect right angle. 
This one box will answer for cutting frames of any size, whether they be six 
inches square or six feet square, or one foot wide and six feet long. The essen- 
tial thing to observe is to have the two saw kerfs, inside of the box, exactly as 
far apart as the box is wide inside. If the work does not fit snugly from the 
saw being too coarse, a smoothing plane will remedy it. The back-saw is the 



CONSTRUCTION OF HOUSES. 39 

best tool for cutting miter joints. The box may be made of any width or size, 
but the rule of keeping distance between saw cuts equal to the width must in 
all cases be observed. 

Miter Fastening. — An English inventor has produced a process for hold- 
ing corners which may be used for heavy as well as Hght boxes. The two pieces 
of wood to be fastened together are first mitered in the ordinary way, and a 
hole is then bored in each piece vertically from the top downward, at a short 
distance from the mitered edge. A channel or groove is then cut by a saw or 
otherwise from the mitered edge to the bit hole. 

This channel is of less width than the diameter of the hole, and may be cut 
either parallel to the sides of the piece of wood or at right angles to the mitered 
edge, so that when the two edges are put together, there shall be a continuous 
channel from one side to the other, shaped somewhat like a dumb-bell, and 
running from the top to the bottom of the box. 

A key is formed by running a fusible metal, such as lead, into this channel. 
The key may be made separately of solid metal and driven into the channel ; 
but, in either way. a joint is formed which can be broken only by tearing away 
the mitered edges of the wood. 



CONSTRUCTION OF HOUSES. 



Simple and Convenient Plans. — I do not propose in this book to 
attempt to instruct the non-professional in the art of house building, but to 
simply give a few hints to those of limited means, to be observed when erecting 
a house. Those who are able to employ an architect, can obtain plans far 
more elaborate than can be given in a work on simple mechanical affairs. 

A practical builder who has made a study of cheap and yet handsome dwell- 
ings, furnishes Plan No. i, page 40, which has many commendable points. 

The upright part is 20 by 36 feet; the wing on the right, 17 by 18; wing 
in the rear, 20 by 30 feet. 

The plan of the ground floor only is given. A, the parlor, 16 by 19 feet. B, 
bed-rooms ; one in wing, 9 by 13 feet ; in upright, 12 by 16. C, pantry, 8 by 9. 
D, dining room, 15 by 15. E, sitting room, 17 by 19. F, cook room, 12 by 
15. H, cistern and pump room, 5 by 10. I, bath room, 5 by 8. J, hall, 10 by 
19. K, front porch, 4 by 18. L, closets. M, china cupboards. N, stairs. O, 
clothes presses. P, rear stoop, 4 by 18 ; with a cistern at the further end. 

The woodshed should be attached to the back end of the rear wing, adjoining 
the cook room or kitchen, and made of such a size as the builder may choose. 
The back wing may be built forty feet long, leaving ten feet for a woodshed, if 
desired. 



40 



CONSTRUCTION OF HOUSES. 



A residence after this plan can be built and very well finished for about 
seventeen hundred dollars. 

Of course the exact cost cannot be safely estimated, for the expense will de- 
pend much upon location. In some localities, the cost will be considerably less, 
and in others possibly a little more. 

Plan No. 2 is less expensive, and a little more tasty. If one can get along 
with the room it affords, it should be built story and a half, with studding long 
enough to make good high walls on second floor. H represents hall ; P 




iil ' ■' K 



1!!^ !i »■ 



PLAN NO. 2. 



parlor ; S, sitting room ; B, bed room ; D. dining room ; K, kitchen ; C, closet : 
b, bath room ; P, pantry ; X, storage room. There are front and back stairs. 

The dimensions may be the same as the other, leaving off nine feet for the 
wing bed room ; or the whole dimensions may be lessened to suit the financial 
requirements. The chambers can be constructed to conform to space. 

Plan No. 3 given may please some better. 

The main part is 22 by 46 feet, with piazza in front. The cottage is entered 
by means of a hall containing the stairs. To the right is a parlor fifteen feet 
square; back of the hall is the dining room, 14x15-6, with doors between both 
hall and parlor. Back of the parlor is the nursery, 12-6x14, and two closets 
between this and the dining room. Off from the dining room to the rear is the 
kitchen, 12-6x15-6, and on the right, pantry, bath and sink rooms, and in the 
latter are the back stairs. The entrance to the cellar is from the kitchen. 



CONSTRUCTION OF HOUSES. 



41 



The second stor}^ is divided into bed rooms and closets, as shown in the 
design, and made very pleasant and convenient, giving large apartments for 
sleeping in, which should always be sought when building a residence. 

In arranging your plan, it is well to remember that doors which are used 
most in passing through a room should be opposite one another, and not cross 
cornered. The front windows should be arranged symmetrically with respect 
to the outside partitions, inside be made to suit. 




PLAN NO. ^. — GROUND FLOOR. 



PLAN NO. 3. — SECOND FLOOR. 



Do not have a step between two rooms on the same floor ; put them all into 
the stairs between stories. 

One almost invariably finds the stairway leading from the kitchen to the cel- 
lar or laundry only wide enough for one person. If there is any part of a house 
that should have a broad, easy stairway, it is that part which is used the most, 
and where it is necessary daily to carry bulky materials up and down. 

Seasoned Mouse Material. — In what we call good houses, those parts 
exposed to view are generally of good stock and properly seasoned ; but a dry 
frame is of more consequence than dr)^ doors. The latter can be readily re- 
paired or replaced ; the former cannot. The timber used is generally too nar- 
row. Every wooden house of medium size should have 2 by 6 outside stud- 
ding, instead of 2 by 4. Instead of 2 by 6 and 2 by 8 flooring joists, they 
should be 2 by 10 and 2 by 12. 



42 CONSTRUCTION OF HOUSES. 

Double Boarding' for IIoiise§. — A correspondent says that all framed 
houses should be double boarded ; but the rough sheeting boards should be 
put inside the studding, instead of outside next the siding, as has been custom- 
ary. Then on this sheeting, inside the studding, strip with a single lath 
wherever we wish to nail the lath ; then the clinch of the plastering will touch 
against the solid sheeting board, and make a very solid wall, not so easily 
broken as when there is nothing but the slender lath to hold against a knock 
on the plastering, 

Quantity of Material in Building§. — According to the Northwestern 
Linnberma7i, i,ooo laths will cover 70 yards of surface, and 11 pounds of nails 
put them on. Eight bushels of good lime, 15 bushels sand, and i bushel hair 
make enough good mortar to plaster 100 square yards. A cord of stone, 3 
bushels lime, and a cubic yard of sand will lay 100 cubic feet of wall. One 
thousand shingles laid 4 inches to the weather, will cover 100 square feet of 
surface, and 5 pounds of nails fasten them on. One fifth more siding and floor- 
ing is needed than the number of square feet of surface, because of the lap in 
the siding and the matching of the floor. Five courses of brick will lay i foot 
in height on a chimney ; 6 bricks in a course will make a flue 4 inches wide and 
12 long ; and 8 bricks in a course make a flue 8 inches wide and 16 long. 

Repairing Buildings. — Hardly any building is so good that no atten- 
tion, in a mechanical line, is needed. An absent shingle upon the roof should 
be replaced as soon as discovered, for if not, leakage and decay are sure to fol- 
low. Where a shingle has been removed by wind, it may be known that those 
immediately above and below are not securely nailed, and soon a breach of 
considerable magnitude will be made. 

Another important thing to notice in connection with the roof, is the con- 
dition of the ridge boards. Hundreds of outbuildings and many residences 
may be seen with these entirely, or in part gone. The opening not being large, 
but little snow or rain falls through, and does not attract particular attention, 
but yet the moisture so completely penetrates here, that the ridge pole, ends of 
the rafters and roof boards decay. One hour's work a year will keep every- 
thing as it should be. 

When the weather boarding of buildings gets to clattering, it should be 
nailed up at once. The best way is to take a hammer and pocketful of nails 
and give each building a looking over, twice a year, say fall and spring. When 
a board is allowed to drop off, it soon warps up or splits in such a way as to be 
unfit to replace, and new lumber has to be used to make the repair. 

Lining for H®ii§e WaII§. — A very good plan has been adopted by some 
for making framed houses warm in winter and cool in summer. The plan 
consists in building up a brick wall between the studs of the house. This wall 
is only two inches thick, as the bricks are built up standing upon their edges. 

Strips, half an inch square, made by splitting laths into three parts, are nailed 



CONSTRUCTION OF HOUSES. 43 

to the studs three inches from the face side, then a layer of brick is put up 
edgewise, resting against the cleats, and cemented together, sides and ends. 

A double air chamber is thus formed, besides the wall will be rat proof. 

A plan a little less expensive, and one that will answer about the same pur- 
pose, is to nail inch cleats up the studding on the broad surfaces a little back 
from the center, lath upon these and put on a coat of strong plaster, what 
masons call a " scratch coat." The cleats for this purpose should be at least 
an inch square. Of course this inner wall must be made before the lathing is 
done for room finish. 

Building' Brick Walls. — When putting up brick walls for houses, there 
are two very im.portant matters to be considered. First, how to prevent damp- 
ness ; and second, to have a sightly and durable structure. 

When dry bricks are laid in the mortar, as quick as a flash they will absorb 
the moisture and prevent cohesion, insomuch that often the bricks can be sep- 
arated from the mortar as clean as if they had not been laid in it. Bricks of 
inferior quality will make a tolerably good wall if dampened and laid in good,, 
sharp sand mortar, and whoever wishes to put up a good, substantial building, 
should be careful not to let warm and dusty bricks be built in the walls, unless 
first dampened with water. 

To Prevent Damp Wall§. — The work of prevention should begin at 
the foundation. Look to thorough drainage, and then to prevent the retained 
moisture of the earth rising by capillary attraction. The remedy for this, as 
given by the Manufacturer and Builder, is a layer of fine concrete, thinly 
coated on the top with asphaltum laid on hot. This done all around the top of 
the walls, external and internal, the piers and every piece of brick work that in* 
any manner has connection with the ground, then the bricks forming the next 
course should be heated over charcoal furnaces, and their beds dipped in the 
asphaltum before being laid. It is evident that a preventive course could 
thus be formed above ground at a trifling expense, wholly impervious to wall- 
damp, and at the same time giving a bedding to the superstructure of a quality 
very far superior to any now in use. 

Now, something must be done for the wall above the foundation. Brick will 
absorb fully one fifth of its weight of water, and where the storm drives the rain 
continuously against the face of a wall for a sufficient time to permit the interior 
heat to attract it, the inside of the wall must of necessity be damp, and the 
papering become mouldy, as well as the ceiling next it rotten. To prevent this, 
various means have been devised, and while leaving a space between the bricks 
and the plastering, apparently making the interior dry, there is a heavy dampness 
existing after a long rain, which neuralgic and rheumatic people feel very sen- 
sibly. 

Among the preparations for the outer wall to prevent water penetrating, are 
the following : 



44 CONSTRUCTION OF HOUSES. 

Twelve ounces of mottled soap are dissolved in one gallon of boiling water, 
and the hot solution spread steadily with a flat brush over the outer surface of 
the brick work, care being taken that it does not lather ; this is allowed to dry 
for twenty-four hours, when a solution formed of a quarter of a pound of alum 
-dissolved in two gallons of water, is applied in a similar manner over the coat- 
ing of sqap. The soap and alum form an insoluble varnish, it is said, which 
the rain is unable to penetrate, and the cause of dampness is thus effectually 
removed. The operation should be performed in dry, settled weather. An- 
other method is to use eight parts of linseed oil and one part of sulphur, heated 
together to two hundred and seventy-eight degrees in an iron vessel. The 
former appears to be preferable. 

Painting the brick work is efficacious, but has to be repeated, and in the end 
is apt to make brick work little, if any, cheaper than brown stone. In all these 
cases we are supposing the locality of the work to be very exposed, as are a 
great many valuable residences, located in rural districts, country towns, and 
in the suburbs of cities. 

As to the inside walls, there are various ways of coating, but painting is the 
most commendable. Use white lead and linseed oil, with a little litharge to 
facilitate the drying, mixed together to about the consistency of thin cream ; a 
•coating of this being applied, the oil from it is drawn into the plaster in a few 
hours, leaving the white lead apparently dry upon the surface. In the course 
of a day or two, when this coat has sufficiently hardened, another should be 
given a little thicker. If the absorption of the oil from the second coat has not 
been great, about one fourth of spirits of turpentine is added to the third ; but 
Avhere the absorption has been great, a less proportion of spirits of turpentine 
is used. Into this coat the coloring ingredients may be put, which are to bring 
it near the shade of the finishing coat. 

The flatting or finishing coat is composed entirely of paint — that is, of white 
lead and the coloring ingredients mixed together and ground in oil into an im- 
palpable paste. This mixture is of a very thick consistency, and must be 
thinned with spirits of turpentine until it will flow easily from the brush. 

Sometimes a brick wall is carried above the roof and painted just for appear- 
ance' sake on the outside, and here we find the paint flaking off. On the inside 
the rain will enter, saturate the bricks with water and force off the paint. The 
•water will run back on the under side of the copestones until it is absorbed by 
the mortar. Let it be borne in mind that, if rain is not entirely excluded from 
the bricks, it will be of Httle use to paint the outer surface only. 

Iiut>t>mg Down Bricks. — When common brick is used for the outside 
facing of the house, it may be well rubbed down with brick and a free use oi 
cement water. This fills up all the interstices, and produces an even surface 
upon which to paint. Soft brick should not be used for outside when it can be 
avoided. 



CONSTRUCTION OF HOUSES. 45 

Hollow House Walls. — In hollow walls there is very likely to remain a. 
heavy dampness after a long rain, either from capillary attraction through the 
foundation, or by absorption from the surface. Of course this is when such 
precautions as have been given before, have not been taken. The great diffi- 
culty met with in building hollow walls, is to so construct them that moisture 
cannot pass from the outer to the inner wall. 

Wall Binders. — Binders of some kind must be used, and these are com- 
monly of brick, which answer as a vehicle to transmit the dampness. Strips of 
wood or iron have been used in place of brick, and with good effect. Common 
hoop iron, or pieces of lath will make ties, if they are firmly cemented between, 
the layers of brick. 

As to the best method, the Scientific American says : The proper way to con- 
struct a hollow wall is to have 8 inches of brick work on the outside, then two 
inches and a half of hollow space, and 4 inches of brick work on the inside. 
Bind the outside and inside walls together with iron ties, ^ by ^ inch, and 
loj^ inches long, with a turn of one inch at each end. These ties should have 
a good coating of tar, and should be built in the wall every eighth course. They 
should be two feet six inches apart, and so placed as to break joints. 

Openings should be left at the bottom of the walls on a line with each tier 
of beams, to allow the dropping mortar to be taken out ; otherwise the drop- 
pings accumulate, and produce a solid wall. To more effectually collect the 
droppings, a course of slate should be placed over the hollow space in the wall, 
on the top of the beam ; this should be done on each floor. Where this mode 
of construction is faithfully carried out, a very satisfactory wall is sure to be the 
result. 

Do not permit the mason to persuade you to allow him to put in a binder of 
brick occasionally so as to " steady the wall ;" so sure as you do, a damp spot 
on the inside plastering will be the result. 

Pointing- BrickAV^ork. — As in laying walls, pointing should not be done 
upon dry bricks. Jobbers will ridicule the idea, perhaps, but there is always a 
mercenary motive behind it. Mortar to be tough and hard should dry slowly. 
In the first place, prepare the pointing material of cleart, fine, sharp sand, two 
parts to one of cement, then add a little white lime to make it work nicely, and 
to make it white. Mix only a little at a time, and apply at once. If the material 
stands long, it sets so that it cannot be worked. 

The best time to point a wall is just after a good, soaking rain. If the wall 
is dry, make a generous application of water to the bricks. Some masons 
simply dampen its seam with a wet brush ; but this is not sufficient. Roughen 
the seam before applying the cement, to give a firm hold to the pointing ma- 
terial. 

Bricks per Foot. — Twenty-one bricks may be counted as one cubic foot. 
For surface measure on a wall, thirteen and a half bricks make a foot, and for 



46 CONSTRUCTION OF HOUSES. 

a sixteen inch wall, twenty-seven bricks make a surface foot. By following 
these rules one can calculate very closely upon the number of bricks necessary 
to construct a house or other building. 

Concrete Walls. — If sand and cement are what they should be, concrete 
wall may be made very desirable. The Scientific Americaii says on construc- 
tion, that the mortar should be made of cement and sand (the cement fresh 
from the kiln and tested as to its setting quality) ; and the sand should be sharp 
quartz, perfectly clean and free from loam. 

Clean sand will not soil the hand. Sand may be freed from loam by wash- 
ing. Place the sand m a shallow box 4 or 6 feet square, or larger, and flood 
with water, stirring the sand with a hoe. The loam will discolor the water and 
flow off with it. Keep stirring and flooding until the water runs off colorless. 
The sand is then clean. 

Combine the dry cement with the sand in the proportion of one of cement to 
two of sand, thoroughly mix them dry, and just before use add water enough to 
make a thin paste. To this paste add the gravel and small stones, and stir 
them about until the surfaces of the gravel and stones are all covered with the 
paste, taking care that no more of the stone filling is added than the paste will 
coat. 

The mass, thoroughly compounded, should be immediately carried and de- 
posited within the boxes upon the wall, and the boxes allowed to remam until 
the concrete is set. The time for setting will depend upon the quality of the 
cement, but ought not to exceed from six to twelve hours. 

The proportions between the cement and sand should vary in accordance with 
the quality of the sand, from two to five measures of sand to one of cement. 
There should be enough cement to coat the sand on all its surfaces. 

Concrete is not quite as good as stone for foundations. The quantity of 
gravel used will depend upon its coarseness, usually about twice as much 
gravel as sand. It is better that the gravel be of various sizes. The resultant 
concrete will measure no more than the gravel ; the cement and sarid are lost 
in the interstices between the stones. 

Color for Brick Houses. — When bricks are used of a lively cherry 
red, instead of a deep, dark hue, and the walls are properly constructed, paint- 
ing is not necessary. Of course the structure is aided in its beauty by stone 
cappings and colored pointings. For cottage residences, and small villas, it 
certainly produces a fine appearance to leave the brickwork in its natural state, 
having the joints pointed with blue or dark mortar. When to this is added a 
few graceful creeping vines, tastefully trained upon the walls, a very picturesque 
and rural effect is obtained. 

If the bricks are not of a desirable color, they should be rubbed down until 
.a good, smooth surface is obtained, and after painting a pleasing shade, striped 
with dark paint. 



CHEAP SUMMER HOUSE. 



47 



CHEAP SUMMER HOUSE. 



material Required. — A summer house quite ornamental when vine c'.ad 
can be erected at Httle expense after the plan given in the illustration. All the 
material required are a few scantlings and light slats. Eight posts are required 
and as many rafters, all of same sized 
material. The posts may be set in the 
ground, or better upon a scantling 
foundation, with a gravel floor. Six 
feet in diameter and eight feet high, 
will answer for a small arbor. 

Octagon Foundation. — To lay 
out the foundation for an octagon sum- 
mer house, strike a circle the size de- 
sired, and then divide that circle into 
eight equal parts, by spacing around. 
Have a small stake for center guide ; 
then place stakes at each of the eight 
points, having the distance the same 
from each of the eight and the center 
stakes. If a scantling foundation is to 
be used, place a piece of board, same 
width as the bed piece or the scantling 
itself, against two of the stakes on out- 
side of circle ; then with string, or a straight-edge, strike a line across the board 
or scantling from center of circle to outside, and saw ends to the line mark, and 
this will make the pattern for cutting all of the eight pieces. These, when 
spiked together, will make the sills. Eight more pieces of lighter material, but 
same width, spiked together will make the plates or upper part of the octagon. 
Plant a creeping vine like wistaria or trumpet vine on each of the sides except- 
ing door way, and soon you will have a pretty, cool summer retreat. 

A Rustic Summer House. — Where one has access to a forest' a rustic 
summer house may be built at less expense than the one above described. In- 
stead of using scantling for posts and rafters, use poles which retain the bark, 
The framework should be put up octagon in shape, and after the manner illus- 
trated, and instead of the cross cleats, use crooked limbs, cut to form diamond 
shaped openings between the posts. Limbs from the tops of large trees are 
best, as they are more likely to be angular. After the posts are set, a saw, 
hammer and nails are all the aids required. In the construction, one has a good 
opportunity to display the innate taste. This house may also be vine-clad. 




CHEAP SUMMER HOUSE. 



48 ROOFS FOR DWELLINGS. 

ROOFS FOR DWELLINGS. 



Best 81im§'les. — The best material for shingles is white pine of large 
growth, and the best make, those that are split and shaved. When shingles are 
sawed or cut the grains are crossed, and water more readily penetrates than 
when they are shaved lengthwise of the grains. For durability, next in order 
come hemlock, spruce, white ash and oak. 

Spruce, if the timber is large, and the sap all taken off, will last fifteen or 
twenty years ; but shingles made of small spruce, or fir timber with sap on, such 
as are imposed upon the market, are comparatively worthless. 

Much depends also upon the quality of the timber, and the condition it is in 
when cut. White oak will make good shingles. This statement is based upon 
actual trial and observation. I had a building newly covered for the first time 
that had stood over thirty years with an oak roof. Another oak roof, put on ten 
years later, did not stand well. The latter shingles were made from dead but 
sound trees, and the former from live oak. 

Thin shingle are more likely to warp than thick ones, and do not wear pro- 
portionately as long. When buying shingle of any wood, select those that were 
made from live timber, fine grained, and of good thickness. It is no small job 
to new roof a building, and it pays well to do the work right. 

Painting" Shingles. — There is no more question in regard to the profit of 
painting shingle, than there is respecting the economy of painting any part of a 
house exposed to the influence of storm and sun heat, but the work should be 
done thoroughly. Some paint both sides of the shingle, and those that have 
had most experience, declare that if good shingles are painted on both sides^ 
and good paint is applied to the roof once in ten years, it will continue leak- 
tight for more than a hundred years. 

Care should be taken to apply the paint when the shingles are perfectly dry 
and seasoned, for to do so when wet would, by preventing the escape of the 
moisture therefrom, only hasten their destruction. The paint should, of course, 
be of a color to correspond with that naturally assumed by shingles after ex- 
posure to the weather, in order that anything unsightly or grotesque in the ap- 
pearance of the roof may be avoided. 

As black paint absorbs more heat than any other color, neither the paint nor 
the shingles will endure as long as if the roof had been covered with some light 
wood-colored paint. 

Tar For Preserving Roofs. — Those who have experience say that 
the durability of shingles may be doubled by dipping them into gas tar and 
rosin — boiled to a pitch — while the mixture is hot. This substance fills all the 
pores of the wood so perfectly as to make the shingle impervious to water ; in 
fact, they are claimed to be next to slate in point of durability as roofing ma- 
terial. 



ROOFS FOR DWELLINGS. 49 

When it is not desired to save the water for drinking, coal tar is an excel- 
lent and cheap paint for preserving shingles, and it will pay well to smear a 
roof with this material once in four or five years. 

IVailing^ on !§]iing'le§. — Some writers have advocated using but one nail to 
a shingle, so as to give the piece of wood a chance to swell and shrink without 
liability of splitting, but the theory is not a good one. I once employed a car- 
penter who advocated the same thing, claiming it was not only economy to use 
but one nail, but that the roof would last longer. We were new roofing my 
residence at the time, and the portion of the roof put on by him was laid after 
his theory ; the other portion was well nailed. The result was, not five years 
elapsed before the half nailed shingles began to work loose and blow off, and 
the roof to leak — in fact, it was in worse condition at that period than the other 
part at the end of fifteen years. 

Good shingles are not liable to swell or warp enough to split where the nails 
go through ; in fact, we seldom see them, of any kind, thus affected. Sixteen 
inch hand shaved and painted pine shingle, laid four and a half inches to the 
weather, well nailed down, will last until the wood wears away, which will reach 
well on to half a century. 

Liisne for ^liing-les. — A New England gentleman claims that shingles 
laid in whitewash will last twice as long as if they had not been treated with 
the lime. His plan is to dress the shingles in thin whitewash made with brine 
instead of clear water. He lines each course of shingles as laid with red chalk,, 
then whitewashes the last course laid down to the line, and after the building is 
shingled the whole roof is whitewashed. He speaks of a roof covered with 
sappy and shaky shingles that had lasted twenty years, and would last several 
years longer. 

This process no doubt will better the condition of the shingle somewhat, but, 
in my opinion, nothing is equal to linseed oil paint well applied. 

Wliite Vitriol for ^liingles. — Another process offered and strongly ad- 
vocated by some, is to use vitriol and alum. 

Take a kettle, or a large tub, and put into it one barrel of lye of wood ashes, 
five pounds of white vitriol, five pounds alum, and as much salt as will dissolve 
in the mixture. Make the liquor quite warm, and put as many shingles in it as 
can be conveniently wet at once. Stir them up with a fork, and when well 
soaked take them out and put in more, renewing the liquor as necessary. Thert 
lay the shingles as usual. 

IViimtoer of ^liing'le§ in a Roof. — There are two easy methods of 
calculating how many shingles are required to cover a roof of given size. One 
is to figure upon twenty square inches cover to each shingle, and the other 
by finding the number of square inches in one side of a roof ; cut off right 
hand figure and the result will be double the amount required for that space, or 
enough for both sides of the roof. 



so CONSTRUCTION OF CHIMNEYS. 

To illustrate first process : The measurement for a shingle is four inches 
wide ; if the roof is fifty feet by fifteen, it will take one hundred and fifty 
shingles to make one course, three per foot, and in fifteen feet the other way, 
we have twelve times fifteen, or one hundred and eighty inches ; shmgle, five 
inches to the weather, will require thirty-six courses, and thirty-six courses of 
one hundred and fifty each, will use up 5,400 for one side, or 10,800 for both 
sides. 

By the other process, multiply width, fifteen feet, by length, fifty feet, and the 
result is seven hundred and fifty square feet. Now multiply the square feet by 
one hundred and forty-four, to reduce it to square inches, and you have a result 
of 10,800; strike off right hand figure, and the result is enough shingles for 
both sides of the roof. 

To Mepair a Roof. — When repairing a shingle roof, paint should be 
mixed to correspond with the color of the weather-beaten wood, and when a 
new shingle is put in, paint the same. A spotted roof is always unsightly. To 
cement holes in any kind of a roof, take four pounds resin, one pint Unseed oil 
and one ounce red lead ; simmer together and apply while hot. 

ColoFJiig Zinc Moof^. — Among recent German inventions is a simple 
process, depending on the use of acetate of lead, by which every kind of color 
is applicable to sheets of zinc. By mixing black lead, for instance, with the 
salt, a very agreeable light brown hue is obtained. It is by this process that the 
cupola of the synagogue at Nuremberg has been painted. A sufficient length 
of time has already elapsed, it is said, to show that the atmosphere has had no 
influence on the zinc sheeting of the roof, thus showing the practical value of 
the process in such cases. By the addition of other coloring matters, light or 
dark shades of yellow or gray may be produced. 



CONSTRUCTION OF CHIMNEYS. 



Cement for Cliimneys. — There are some few hints essential to the 
proper construction of a chimney. For safety, the mortar should be strong and 
adhesive, and the "pointing up " done as well on the inside as out. Another 
essential thing is to have the brick wet when the top at least is laid. A dry and 
warm brick absorbs the moisture from the cement very rapidly and leaves it 
brittle. Lime mortar, to retain its best strength, should dry slowly. This fact 
is not sufficiently heeded when laying brick which are to be exposed to wind 
and storm. 

Another thing neglected by masons is the filling of the space between the 
ends of the bricks perfectly. Simply drawing the trowel across the edge of the 
brick last laid, and shoving another up against it, is not sufficient. Very many 



■:\ 



CONSTRUCTION OF CHIMNEYS. 51 

of the SO called incendiary and unaccountable fires arise from imperfectly built 
chimneys. 

Topping* Out a diimney. — Where a covering- is desired at the top, it 
may be made of stone or brick. Sheet iron is not durable enough to pay for 
using. A chimney top arched with brick or stone, well cemented, will stand 
the weather for half a century. 

Size of CSiimneys, — If but one stove is to be used in a chimney, a flue 
the size of two bricks will be sufficient to carry off the smoke. For two stoves, 
have space equal to four bricks. If to carry off the smoke of four or five stoves, 
it should contain one hundred and sixty square inches. This may be square, or 
long and narrow, as best suits the convenience of the builder, but above the 
roof, the best proportion is to have the chimney twice as wide as it is thick. 

Smoking Cliimneys. — Smoking chimneys are the result of various causes. 
First, the chimney is not tall enough ; second, not properly constructed at the 
arch or the flue is clogged ; third, openings along the structure which lessen or 
destroy the draft from the point desired ; fourth, the narrowing of the flue at the 
top ; fifth, by partitions in the chimney. 

The chimney should be tall enough to out top any roof-ridge or wall near by. 
The throat should be large enough, if a fire-place is used, to allow free escape. 
If a stove is used, and the pipe enters above the throat, the latter should be 
filled by fitting in a board and cementing around the edges. A coating of 
cement or a sheet of zinc should be put upon the upper side of the board to 
prevent the liability of its burning from falling sparks or ignited soot. The flue 
should also be kept clear. Sometimes too many openings in a chimney prevent 
a good draft from any single point. To obviate this, close the openings when 
not filled by pipes, or keep the dampers turned in those not in use. 

Wire Oauze for Smoking Chimneys. — A correspondent recommends 
wire gauze, of from thirty-six to forty wires to the inch, as a screen blower, or 
guard. He says if judiciously applied to register stoves, ranges, or stove doors, 
httle, if any, smoke will come into the room. 

The atmospheric pressure prevents the smoke entering the room through the 
gauze, and if applied immediately to the front of the fire, more smoke will be 
consumed than by any other means. In that case, the wire should be kept two 
inches from immediate contact with the hot fire. 

Narrow Flue in Cliimneys. — If the flue is narrowed at the top, the ten- 
dency is to drive the smoke back. Smoke, as it cools, moves with less force 
than when hot, and meeting with a partial obstruction, returns, especially if the 
atmosphere is in such a condition as to make downward pressure. 

If any thing, the upper portion of the flue should be a trifle larger than the 
lower, at least no smaller. Sometimes the division of a chimney by a wall, will 
cause smoke from one flue to pass up on one side and down on the other, acted 
upon by some influence in the apartment where the second opening is made. 



52 FIXING UP DOORS. 

To remedy this, remove a portion of the wall at the upper end. Location has 
something to do with the correct action of a chimney. A house built upon an 
elevated piece of ground will not require so large a flue in its chimney as one 
built in a ravine or valley. 

Hursiin^ Oat a Cliimiiey. — As a remedy for a chimney on fire, two 
articles have been suggested. Brimstone thrown upon the fire on hearth or 
in stove is one, and salt the other. The latter is usually most convenient. It is 
claimed that if salt is mixed with the mortar which is used in building the chim- 
ney in the usual way, the accumulation of soot is prevented by the salt absorb- 
ing the moisture every damp day, and parting with it to the soot, which thus 
becomes heavy and falls down into the fireplace. 



FIXING UP DOORS. 



Xeglected Mepairs. — Doors become unsightly from neglect. A screw 
comes out and is not replaced ; there is a sagging, and no remedy applied ; a 
piece of moulding comes off, and instead of being at once put back and 
fastened, it eventually gets lost, and then the unsightly door is a permanent 
thing. But little attention is required to keep all the doors of a dwelling in 
good working condition as well as agreeable in appearance. 

Slainmmg' I>oors. — Where doors are so located as to be subject to 
strong draughts of air, and to slam, they should have rubber or cloth pads 
applied to prevent the noise ; strips of rubber cut from the thin part of old shoes, 
or thick pieces of woolen cloth, may be glued or tacked on to the jamb casing. 
It is not necessary to put them on its whole length, a strip three inches long at 
top, bottom and middle will answer. 

i^ag'g'mg' I>oors. — Doors long in use often rub the floor or pinch at the 
threshold, and have to be planed off. This is a bad practice, because it injures 
the shape of the door. Instead of this — if modern hinges are used — get some 
washers of tin or sheet iron made to fit the central rod of the hinge. As the 
cause of the sagging is, generally, the wearing down of the hinge, these washers 
will relieve the difficulty without marring the paint or the door. If of the old 
style hinges which are fastened together, remove the screws from the casing, 
take out the hinges, then wedge up the door from the bottom until in its origi- 
nal place ; mark the positions of the hinges and remove sufficient wood to admit 
of the rise. Plug the old screw holes firmly, and putty up the spot left beneath 
the hinges, and color to conform to paint on wall. 

Creaking Doors. — A little sewing machine or olive oil applied to a hinge 
will take the music out of it. If it is rusty from disuse, apply a little coal oil 
first. 



PLASTER AND PLASTERING. 53 

Stopping* Crack-S in I>o©rs. — When blinds and doors do not close 
snugly, but leave cracks through which drafts enter, the simplest remedy, rec- 
ommended by Mr. Schuetse, Building Commissioner in Germany, is this : Place 
a piece of putty along the jambs, cover the edge of the blind or door with chalk, 
and shut it. The putty will then fill all spaces which would remain open and 
be pressed out where it is not needed, while the excess is removed with a knife. 
The chalk rubbed on the edges prevents the adhesion of the blind or door, 
which then can be opened without adhesion, and the putty is left in place, 
where it soon dries and leaves a perfectly fitting jamb. 

SlidiBig I>oor§. — Sliding doors for wardrobes and closets would often 
prove more desirable ; they do not impede the light as hinged doors often do. 
Above all things, when arranging a house, attention should be given to the 
accommodation of bedsteads in chambers, and at the same time secure a fitting 
place for the toilet. Too frequently a bedstead has no fitting place in a room, 
but has to be set across a window. Light and ventilation are great objects in 
sleeping rooms, for on these depend the health of the occupant 



PLASTER AND PLASTERING. 



material for Plaster. — The two important things in making a plastered 
wall is to have a good lath foundation, and good mortar to spread upon it. 
Skilled labor without good material wilt prove ineffectual. 

Good lime and sand are most important requisites. If the sand is dirty, it 
should be washed before adding the lime. 

How to Mix Mortar. — For the first, or what is termed " scratch coat," 
six barrels of sand will require one barrel of unslaked white lime, and one 
bushel, or seven pounds, of hair. 

For the second, or brown coat, eight barrels of sand will require one barrel 
of unslaked lime and seven pounds of hair. 

For both the scratch coat and brown coat, tne hair of the goat is better than 
that of the cow, on account of its greater length, but cow hair answers a very 
good purpose. 

For the last, or hard finish coat, slake best white lime and strain through a 
iine sieve, when about the thickness of ground paint as it is canned. Put about 
seventy-five pounds of this on a tight, clean platform, and work out the center* 
so as to form a cup or rim ; then into the center put about three or four quarts 
of water, and about ten pounds of plaster of Paris ; then mix and v/ork 
thoroughly. Besides working, it should be well troweled. 

The slaking of lime is so simple a process, and so vvel.' understood, that ii 
need not be explained here. 



54 PLASTER AND PLASTERING. 

Quantities of material for Plastering^. — It is safe to estimate that 
one thousand laths will cover sixty yards of wall, and one thousand laths will 
require seven pounds of nails. To cover sixty yards of wall with scratch, or 
first coat of mortar, it will require one barrel of lime, six barrels of sand, and 
seven pounds of hair. 

For the brown coat six barrels of sand, six-eighths of a barrel of lime, and 
seven pounds of hair. The second coat will take about the same in quantity 
as the first, as it must be laid thicker to even up the wall, and make a good 
foundation for the lime coat. 

In estimating for the finishing coat, allow nine barrels of unslaked lime for 
one thousand square yards of lathed surface, and four barrels of plaster of Paris, 
Remember that one barrel of unslaked lime makes three barrels of white 
mortar. 

Working" Mortar. — For the two first coats mortar needs a good deal of 
working — much more than it generally gets. The old-fashioned way of rubbing 
with a hoe is a good one, and should be put through several times. Merely 
stirring the mortar like so much mush does not answer the purpose at all ; it 
must be regularly worked so that the particles of lime and sand may be brought 
into intimate contact. 

In Europe the best builders, it is said, work the lime carefully after it has 
been slaked till it assumes a pasty condition, when it is mixed with the sand, 
and then worked thoroughly until perfectly incorporated. 

I have found it a good plan to put the hair, well separated, into the lime box 
and run it out into the sand-bed with the wash. 

Keeping Mortar. — It is sometimes necessary to keep mortar for some 
time, or to be at the expense of making up a new batch. In such a case the 
mixture sliould be covered, if in summer, and kept moist ; or put in a cellar,, 
if in winter, and kept moist there also. It is also essential to give the mass an 
occasional working over. When mortar has once set solid, its tenacity and 
vitality cannot be again returned ; or if it has once frozen, it should be aban- 
doned as worthless. It does not injure mortar to stand if kept plastic. Simply 
putting it in a damp cellar will not keep it from setting. The only safe way is 
to wet it thoroughly, and give it a working. 

Plastering on Old Latlis. — It is not an easy matter to make plaster 
stick to old laths from which a dried coat has been removed. The reason is 
that the dried particles or dust still adhering to the wood fibre, prevent adhe- 
sion of the new coat. The old laths should be pounded lightly to jar off the 
sand, and then brushed thoroughly with a stiff brush or broom. After this 
dampen the laths, and apply the new coat. If the upper side of the laths can be 
reached, sweep that also. 

Plastering in Cold Weather. — Fires should be kept up in a house 
while the plastering is going on and un*j the fir>h 's dry, providing the weather 



PLASTER AND PLASTERING. 



55 



is cold enough to freeze the mortar. If the mortar is put on in freezing weather 
and no fire used, it will be found that the clinches on the inside will freeze and 
thaw with the change of temperature, and thus the clinches break with bad 
results. 

Cracking of Plaster.— When the finishing coat cracks upon the wall 
it may be known that too much Ume has been used for the amount of plaster of 
Paris. Pure plaster of Paris will never crack ; but it sets too thick for the con- 
venience of the operator, so lime is mixed with it. If you try to plaster with 
lime alone, it will crack all over in drying, and perhaps come off in patches. 

How to Make a Sand Sieve.— Get No. 9 wire, cut into even lengths 
of four or five feet, and bend about three-quarters of an inch of each end at 
right angles. Cut and bend enough wires to 
spread over a surface of twenty-four or thirty 
inches, leaving space between the wires about 
one-fourth of an inch. 

Take two pieces of plank as long as the sieve 
is to be wide and lay them upon the floor, and 
after making gimlet or awl holes, drive in the 
wires as represented in the engraving. If the 
wires are driven across the plank in line they 
are liable to become loose, so it is better to 
vary them at the ends. 

After the wires are all driven, put in cross 
stays, or supports, once in about seven inches. 
These are quickly made by taking fine, well 
annealed wire, and braiding over and under 
across twice or more, and staying the ends. 

Next box the sieve, by nailing on side and 
end boards five inches wide. The boards are 
nailed to the end planks flush on bottom side, 
and forming a box on top side. The top, or 
box side, should be that on which the wires are 
fastened to the end planks. To sift sand, set 
the sieve on end, and brace with a board at an 
angle of about forty degrees, and throw the 
sand against the wire with a shovel. 

Plastering^ Floors. — In coating a cellar 
bottom, or other floor, with mortar, the gravel 
foundation should be tramped down very hard. For the plaster take clean, 
coarse, and sharp gravel two parts, and one part best water lime cement, and 
mix to a consistency that will admit of spreading conveniently. Apply to thick- 
ness from half an inch to an inch or more, and allow it to dry slowly. 




SAND SIEVS. 



56 MANAGEMENT OF WINDOWS. 

MANAGEMENT OF WINDOWS. 



Protecting "%Vmclows Avitii Paint. — Give window sash at least two 
coats of paint before the glass is set and the glazing done. This will insure a 
strong hold of the putty, and prevent the glass getting loose. Further than 
this, the putty will not peel off from induence of the weather. " Primed sashes," 
as sold, are only brushed over with Spanish whiting and oil ; they should be 
double coated with good, white lead paint. 

To Remove Paint from €^la§s. — When the brush touches the glass, 
the spot may be readily removed, while fresh, with a rag wet with turpentine. 
After the paint has become dr}-, it may be removed by use of a hot solution of 
sal-soda, applied with a soft flannel. Another way to remove dry paint from 
the pane is to make a small swab, having a handle some eight inches long, dip 
it in a little dilute oxalic acid, and rub off the paint with the swab. 

To Mold WinclOAVS Up. — The old English method is performed by 
means of cork, in the simplest manner, and with scarcely any expense. Bore 
three or four holes in the sides of the sash, into which insert common bottle- 
cork, projecting about the sixteenth of an inch. These will press against the 
window frames along the usual groove, and by their elasticity support the sash 
at any height which may be required. 

To §top l-Vin€lo^v§ Rattling. — When a window rattles it should be 
examined to find the exact spot where the trouble is. The jamb casing in some 
cases may be moved a Httle, and remedy the whole affair. Sometimes, how- 
ever, this cannot be done without disfiguring the face casing by showing a 
streak where the paint is separated. 

In that event make some small side buttons, and screw one on each side of 
the jamb at the centers of the upper and lower sashes. These buttons should be 
so adjusted that they may be turned with a good deal of pressure against the 
sash. These will crowd the stiles of the sash outward against the stop of the 
window frame, and the sash will not only be held so firmly that it cannot rattle, 
but the crack which admitted dust and a current of cold air will be closed so 
tightly that no window strips will be required in w'inter. 

To ^lake ^Vindo^vs Look Long. — Many persons, living in old- 
fashioned houses, would like to have their windows lengthened in appearance 
on the inside. This can be done by means of the curtains. Make them with a 
standing ruffle, or puft'ed at the top, and fasten on to a strip of board as long as 
the window is wide. Nail this to the wall as high up as you want it, using a 
nail in each end. The shades can be attached to the strip, under the curtains. 

To Remove §pot§ from ^YiudoAVS. — For washing windows put a 
few drops of ammonia on a piece of paper, and it will readily take off every spot 
or finsrer mark on the elass. 



PAPERING WALLS. 57 

PAPERING WALLS. 



Clieap Wall Paper, — It is an easy matter to spread paste upon paper 
and the paper upon the wall; easy to do it right, but easier to do it wrong. 
Cheap wall paper, with highly colored designs, is the most difficult to put on 
neatly, for the paste moistens the colors, and the paper is disfigured when 
smoothing down, giving it a very bad appearance. 

Triniming' Wall Paper.*— Trim one edge of the paper, cut a dozen or 
more strips a trifle longer than the distance between the top of the wall and 
mop or base board, so the figures will match. After a sufficient number have 
been cut, lay several of them in their regular order, figure side down, upon a 
board, bringing the first strip cut at the top of the pile. The board should be 
a trifle wider and longer than the paper, with the ends supported upon a couple 
of light stands or tables. 

Pasting- 'Wall Paper. — Apply the paste with a brush— a small, half- 
worn whitewash brush is best — beginning at the lower end, and paste the top 
of the strip last. This will prevent the paper becoming tender by the moisture 
soaking through at the upper corners, where it is necessary to take hold to 
carry it. After pasting, take hold of the two lower corners, and double the 
strip. Then double the upper half back again, letting the lower end project an 
inch or two below where the first fold was made; now take hold of the two 
upper corners, and carry the strip to the wall ; have something to stand upon 
which will elevate you so you can reach the top of the wall. 

How to Hang "Wall Paper. — Commence papering in one corner of 
the room, and go around to the right or left, according to which edge of the 
paper is trimmed. 

After staying the upper end to the wall, step down, take hold of the two 
lower corners, and pull out the folds and smooth it on the wall. After the first 
strip is hung, match the other carefully by it, and smooth out the paper from 
the top downward. If cheap paper is used, do not wipe it with a cloth, but 
brush it with a new broom ; this will prevent blending of colors. 

Each strip of paper, as it is hung, will be found to project over the mop- 
board. Run your finger over the paper upon the edge of ihe board, and then 
with a pair of sharp shears cut by the mark, and fit the paper nicely to its place. 
When fitting around a door or window casing, never try to cut by measure, but 
use the scribe rule ; take the strip before pasting, match the figure accurately 
with that already on, then run the ball of the thumb over the paper around the 
casing, and cut by the mark. 

After a few strips have been put on, it is advisable to use a plumb, and see if 
the paper is perpendicular. If not, bring it plumb by lapping at the top or 
bottom gradually, as the case may require, to bring it as it should be. 



58 PAPERING WALLS. 

Pattern§ in Wall Paper. — Papers of a large pattern greatly reduce the 
apparent size of the room, and those of a large and flowing pattern increase the 
apparent height. A paper in which perpendicular lines predominate, although 
the pattern be large, does not so much affect the apparent height. To cover a. 
small room with paper of a large pattern is a great mistake, and a still worse- 
mistake is to paper the ceiling or wall overhead. The best effect is produced 
by using papers in which the pattern and colors are quiet and harmonious, and 
do not strike the eye. The walls of a room are like the background of a picture, 
and should be treated so as to relieve and set off the object in front of them, 
and to give repose to the eye. 

A paper presenting sudden contrasts in color and strongly marked lines in 
the pattern, forms the worst possible background for pictures, and the most 
unfavorable accompaniment to furniture, draperies, and objects of taste ; the 
spotty effect of such a papering interferes with all minor objects in the apart- 
ment, and gives an unpleasant and bewildering effect. 

Preparing Walls for Paper. — All old, highly-colored paper should 
be removed from the wall before new is put on, for it will stain through commorb 
paper, and make a very bad appearance. This can be done by thoroughly 
wetting the paper with hot water, and using a steel scraper. 

Where you desire to paper a wall that has been heavily coated with white- 
wash, wash the wall with a solution of vinegar in water, or with hot brine, after 
sweeping the walls thoroughly with a stiff broom. Put paste both on the wall 
and the paper. 

To Make Wall Paper Paste. — For twelve to fifteen rolls of paper 
about a gallon of paste will be required. It is all the better for being made up 
several hours before it is required for use. Make a batter of a little more than 
a pint of wheat flour first, almost as thick as dough, then thin it out, and 
gradually stir it into a gallon of hot water. In this way the formation of lumps 
in the paste will be avoided. Keep the kettle over the fire, and stir continually 
while cooking until the milky appearance changes to a cream color, and it 
becomes thick and glutinous. Paste should not be warm when used, for it 
penetrates the paper much more rapidly, neither should it be used thin upon a 
poor quality of paper. Use thick paste upon rough walls. If too thick, thin 
with cold water and stir well. 

To Keep Paste Sweet. — Sometimes where a heavy coat of paste has 
been used, and especially when applied to a wall previously papered, decompo- 
sition will take place, and produce not only an unpleasant smell in the room, 
but an unhealthy atmosphere. This may be avoided by adding to the paste a 
small quantity of carbolic acid. 

Cleaning Wall Paper. — Take a piece of wood of the shape of a scrub- 
bing brush, nail a handle on the back, then upon the face nail a piece of dried 
sheepskin, with the wool upon it, or flax or tow will do, or cotton flannel of 



PICKET FENCES FOR DOOR-YARDS, ETC. 5^ 

several thicknesses will answer very well. Bring the ends of the matenal 
around, and fasten at the ends of the piece of wood, to avoid nail heads on the 
wiping surface. Dip this brush into dry whiting, and rub the paper lightly with 
the brush on the upper parts of the room first, protecting the carpet with mat- 
ting or newspapers, as the whiting dust is hard to sweep off the carpet. It is^ 
best, where convenient, to take the carpet up. The whiting that remains on 
the wall is easily brushed off with a soft cloth attached to a stick. It is very^ 
effectual if the room is not damp and the whiting is dry. 

Another Hethod. — The best method to adopt, says the Manufacturer- 
and Builder, for cleaning paper upon the wall, is to cut into four or six parts a 
moderately-sized loaf of bread that is two days old — it must be neither newer 
nor staler. With one of these pieces, after having blown off all the dust from 
the paper to be cleaned, with a good pair of bellows, begin at the top of the- 
room, holding with the crust in the hand and wisping lightly downwards with 
the crumb, and half a yard at each stroke, till the upper part of the hangings is 
completely cleaned all around. Then go around again, with a light sweepings 
stroke downward, and always commencing each successive course a little 
higher than the upper stroke had extended, till the bottom is finished. This> 
operation, if carefully performed, will frequently make very old paper look: 
almost equal to new. 

Great caution must be used not by any means to rub the paper hard, or tc^ 
attempt cleaning it in a lateral or horizontal way. The dirty part of the bread,, 
too, must each time be cut away, and the pieces renewed as soon as it becomes 
necessary. 

To Stick Paper to Tin. — Sometimes it is necessary to paper over 
sheets of tin. In that event add sugar or molasses in large proportion to the 
paste. This will be found generally effectual. A manufacturer of sticking 
plaster, whose tin rolls were apt to be greasy, says that rubbing the tin with old 
carpet was a perfect remedy, and he had no trouble to fasten his labels since he 
discovered the fact. 



PICKET FENCES FOR DOOR-YARDS, ETC. 



Cheap Picket Fences. — There is no end to styles for fence building, 
either of board, wire or picket ; wire, however, if made ornamental, is somewhat 
expensive, and a board fence usually costs more than one made of pickets. 
The latter, for cheapness and utility, is the best, and ordinarily presents as neat 
and tasty an appearance as any other. 

To build one of these fences in the most economical manner, and yet the- 
most durable, set the posts well in the ground, six feet apart on a straight line,. 



6o 



PICKET FENCES FOR DOOR-YARDS, ETC. 



then saw off the tops and spike down to them scantHng stringers two iiiches 
thick and four inches wide, allowing the edge of the scantling to project over 
the front surface about half an inch. 

Ten or twelve inches from the ground let in another stringer, flatwise, cut- 
ting the notch into the post but one and one half inch deep, so that this 
stringer will also project half an inch. Now you are ready for the pickets ; use 
no bottom or base board, but allow the sticks to reach down within a few 
inches of the ground. Nail on with a space of three inches between them ; saw 
off the tops by line and corner them up. 

If the ground is only made uneven by small knolls and hollows, the top of the 
fence should be made straight, but if there is a gradual swell to the surface, the 
fence should be made to conform to it. If the bottom ends of the pickets are to 
be set by a drawn line, then the sticks should all be cut to one length before 
nailmg on. 



' 1 1 


Mj.iiiD^lid .J._i si..^^ 



PLAIN AND CHEAP PICKET FENCE. 



As to the size of all the pickets, we would not have them less than an inch 
and one eighth square ; they should be of pine, no other wood that we can get 
is better ; oak and ash will do, but it is harder work to dress them, and difficult 
to nail them on with heavy nails, especially when seasoned, without splitting 
them. 

The object in having the projection of the stringers beyond the face of the 
posts is, that there may be no place where moisture will be retained, and hence 
avert decay. We do away with the bottom board to save expense, and do not 
injure the appearance of the fence by so doing. 

As to height, that is entirely a matter of taste ; for a door-yard we like to see 
them low, at most not over three and a half feet high. The posts should be 
cut to a height after setting some eight inches less than that intended for the 
height of the fence. 

Paint snow white : no color gives such a neat and tasty appearance. Use 
heavy nails to put on the pickets, and no battens or cleats will be required. 

I*ortal>fle Picket Fences. — A portable picket fence may be easily made 
in flat sections to be used for changing location of kitchen garden or poultry 
yard. The pickets may be made of any desired length, about three inches 
wide and three fourths of an inch thick ; half inch will answer very well, and 
liave the advantage of being light. The rails should be about three inches 



PICKET FENCES FOR DOOR-YARDS, ETC. 



6e 



square and ten feet long. At each end of the rails, after being sawed to exactly 
the same length, put on a piece of wide hoop iron, bent like the letter U. 
Punch holes and fasten on with stubbed inch screws. A loop will thus be 
formed large enough to admit a stake two and a half inches square, as repre- 
sented in wood cut. 



O 



RAIL FOR PORTABLE FENCE. 



Prepare two for each section of the fence to be made. After all the rails 
are prepared, lay two down upon the floor, or level ground, and nail on the 
pickets three inches apart. The rails should be separated according to the 
length of the pickets, and every other length should be varied so that when the 
sections are put together, the rails, or rather the loops at the ends of them, 
will not come together, but one above the other. When set up, the fence rests 
upon the bottoms of the pickets, and a stake, round or chamfered, is passed 
down through the loops or staples, and driven into the ground, as shown in 
^he illustration. 







PORTABLE PICKET FENCE FOR POULTRY YARDS. 



The fence will need bracing, and this should be done from the outside. Take 
a piece of 3 x 3 scantling, of sufficient length to make a brace at an angle of 
forty-five degrees, and put upon this, at each end, U shaped bands, the same as 
the rails, only using one screw upon each side, so the bands will turn upon the 
stick. Slip one of the staples down upon the stake until it reaches the rail, 
and through the other end drive a stake into the ground, bracing away from the 
fence. The ends of the brace should be cut beveling, so as to conform to the 
two stakes, and to rest square upon the ground. 



62 BUILDING BOARD FENCES. 

BUILDING BOARD FENCES. 



Important Feature§. — There are two leading considerations when build- 
ing a board fence, and these are appearance and utility. The most important 
feature concerning the latter is the posts, and of the former, style and paint. 

Durable Fence Posts. — As to my own experience in the preservation 
of timber, which has been somewhat extensive, I have always found the quality 
and condition of posts at the time of setting to have more to do with their 
-durability than any appliances I could use. 

Coal Tar and Charring'. — Coal tar is a benefit, no doubt, when ap- 
plied to seasoned wood, and charring, when done upon green timber, may be of 
a little advantage, but it will not help them to any considerable extent. The 
■outside charcoal thus formed will not decay, but there is no strength in it, and 
it is only at the surface. Being porous, it allows the water to pass through it 
into the central uncharred wood, and cause its decay. There may be some 
benefit by the heat hardening the albumen, but soaking the lower ends of dry 
posts in a kettle of hot tar is far better. 

Liive Oak Posts. — I set several hundred posts at one time which stood 
for over twenty years without attention. They were of seasoned white oak, the 
timber having been cut while green, sawed immediately, and well put up under 
shelter, where a free circulation of air was received, and thoroughly seasoned 
before being set. At another time I set a number of white oak posts, sawed 
from dead, but sound timber, and seven years was the extreme limit of their 
•endurance. They all rotted off at the surface of the ground. Hence, I believe 
that one of the principal causes of decay in timber is owing to the fermentation 
•or decomposition of substance matter. When a stick of timber is so placed 
that the sap has no chance to escape, and the albumen cannot harden, fermen- 
tation and rot very soon follow. 

The reason that timber lasts well under water, is because the albumen is 
soaked out, and the same principle holds true with wood buried far enough 
under the surface to be kept damp. You will always see a post first decay near 
the surface, where there is not water enough to soak out the fermentable matter, 
or air enough circulated to dry up the grains of wood. 

Coating Green Posts. — The application of any substance to the sur- 
face of a green stick only confines the ingredients that become destructive. 
Any one knows that oil paints and other water-proof materials preserve seasoned 
wood from decay, but in using them upon posts we should not coat the bottom 
end of the stick, but leave the pores open at this place for water to escape into 
the earth that is contracted above. 

The durability of posts depends a great deal upon the quality of timber. A 
porous or spalty tree should not be chosen for posts ; such will last but about 
one half the time of good fine grained wood. 



BUILDING BOARD FENCES. 63 

Timber for Post's. — White cedar is considered one of the very best of 
timbers for fence posts so far as durability is concerned, and, in consideration of 
this, they are, perhaps, as cheap as of any timber where they can be readily ob- 
tained. If situated where good white oak posts can be obtained at a reasonable 
figure, say ten to fifteen dollars per hundred feet, I should use them, for they 
will last a quarter of a century if of good quality and properly managed. 

Posts Top DoAvnwarcl. — As to setting posts top downward to make 
them last, there has been a good deal of discussion. I have obtained the 
written opinion of two well experienced men, whose testimony is here given. 

One says : " Many years ago, by way of test, I set two gate posts, one top 
and the other butt downward. The latter was taken from the lower, and what 
might be supposed the best end of the log, and both were entirely sound. I had, 
some years since, occasion to remove these posts ; the latter was entirely rotted 
off, and the former would have lasted some six, eight or more years longer. I 
tried two pieces of post fence with similar results. It is such experiments as 
these that have got into my head, and most men's heads, the notion that posts 
set top downward will last longest. Such practical tests are of more importance 
in deciding such questions than all the philosophical reasons that could be 
produced. Although I have heard of no philosophical reasons why a post set top 
dowmward lasts longer, yet I have one of my own. It is moisture, for instance, 
that rots timber. Keep it dry and it is exempt from decay. There are many 
kinds of shrubs, etc., that will propagate from the slip ; for instance, the currant, 
grape and willow. These, although separated from any connection with the 
root, continue to elevate the moisture from the earth, so as to cause their growth. 
Of course, the vessels of post timber, if placed in the ground according to the 
arrangements of nature, will elevate the moisture and keep the timber damp ; 
but if that order is reversed, it remains comparatively dry ; hence, the principal 
reason, no doubt, why a post lasts longer top downward." 

Another man, of large experience, says : " Some twenty-three or four years 
since, I built a fence, inclosing house and door yard, a rail and banister fence. 
The posts were sawed from good sized, first growth, red chestnut logs. To 
saw them tapering, one half of them must be sawed to set in the ground, top 
down, and the other half bottom down. The posts were set promiscuously, 
and to this day there has been no distinguishable difference in their lasting 
quality, unless it be where some of them had more sap on than others, and 
these gave out first, without regard to which end was set downward." 

In my own case, the posts being sawed tapering, one half were tops and one 
half butts down, and no difference was seen as to utility, excepting that those 
cut from near the outer surface or top of the tree yielded quicker than those cut 
from the heart of the log. 

Fieltl Soard Fences, — In the report of the Wisconsin Agricultural 
Society, W. D. Williams gives his manner of making board fences, which is 



64 BUILDING BOARD FENCES. 

very reliable authority : He built two lines of fence, making a lane, into which all 
his fields opened, the lane leading to the barn. On one side of the lane the 
fence was built in the usual manner, level with the surrounding ground ; on the 
other side, the bottom board was raised fifteen inches above the general level of 
the ground along the line, and when the fence was completed, two furrows were 
thrown toward the fence on either side, the first against the fence, and the 
second furrow thrown on top of the first one, raising the ground or bank nearljr 
to the bottom board of the fence. The bank was then smoothed off, and plenty 
of grass seed strewn over it. 

This fine of fen'ce was never disturbed by any animal, nor a board nailed on^ 
or a post righted while he occupied the farm (nine years). Neither did an 
animal attempt to get over it, to his knowledge, and when he left the farm the 
fence was nearly as true in line as the day it was built. 

The other line was a source of constant anxiety and watchfulness. Fully 
one fifth of the original fence boards had been replaced by new ones, and not a. 
few of those remaining bore the marks of the frequent assaults of cattle and 
horses, either in attempts to get over or through the fence, or in rubbing against 
it ; and the posts had to be frequently righted, while the wind broke many nails. 
Now it presents a dilapidated, insecure barrier to cattle, while the other Hne is 
apparently good. The material was the same in both lines. 

The sharply inclined bank gave no convenient standing place for cattle to rub 
against the fence, and animals in approaching found their forefeet below the 
level, thus pitching the head down, and making the fence insurmountably high. 
And for the same reason no cattle or horses ever attempted to crowd or reach 
through. 

The sharply inclined bank gave also a dry, firm bed for the posts, holdings 
them at all times securely in line, and firm against the force of the wind, and, he 
thinks, added to the life of the fence at least fifteen per cent. From his experi- 
ence he feels warranted in affirming that this method will save not less than six 
per cent, annual cost over the usual mode of building. 

To Prevent a Fence ^agg^ing. — Some little trouble attends the effort 
to prevent a fence sagging, but experience has shown that it may be done by 
using underground cross blocks. The blocks should be of oak, split out four 
inches thick and six or eight inches wide. A gain is cut in the center of the 
side of each block the width of the post, a few inches from the butt, or lower 
end, and into this gain the post is driven tightly, so that it will project ten or 
twelve inches below. 

The block, or bar, is put on crosswise of the fence line, which holds the post 
in an upright position. Sawed posts are made tapering, or wedging, so that the 
cross-bar may be driven down upon them firmly ; but in case the gain is by 
mistake cut too large, wedge them up tightly, which will answer a good pur- 
pose. When setting the posts, bore the holes the proper depth ; then with a. 



BUILDING BOARD FENCES. 



65 



spade cut down the sides to the right size and depth for the cross-bar ; then 
with an auger clear the cut below, and put in the post, and stamp the earth 
firmly. 

How to IPut on Boards. — The durability of a board fence depends 
much upon the manner in which the boards are attached to the posts. The 
boards should be so placed that they will break joints, not allowing a tier of 
boards to end upon the same posts, for the fence will soon sag in and out. 
This can be obviated by merely sawing one of the narrow boards in two in the 

ma KvM mi liia 




BREAKING JOINTS ON BOARD FENCE. 

middle. Begin nailing on the boards at one end of the row of posts ; nail the 
bottom board at full length, then one half of the narrow board ; again a full 
length board, then the other half and a full length top board ; the balance of the 
fence can be built of full length boards, and the joints broken in such a manner 
as to make the fence a strong and durable one. The cut illustrates the sug- 
gestion. 

Amount of L-uniber Required. — When it is desired to know the 
number of feet of lumber it will require to build a certain length of fence, all 
that is necessary is to add the widths of the several boards to be used together; 
/. <?., if the bottom board is one foot wide, and the four above it six inches each, 
there would be thirty-six inches width ; now divide that sum by twelve, which 
would give three, then multiply sixteen and a half feet, which is one rod, by the 
three, and you have forty-nine and a half feet to the rod ; multiply that by the 
number of rods, and you have the whole amount of lumber required without 
battens. 

Cheap Portable Board Fence. — There are very many styles of 
portable board fences which are difficult to make and expensive. As a movable 
structure is not generally used where beauty is a consideration, some of the 
cheaper forms are just as good as the expensive and complicated. Take inch 
hard wood board twelve feet long, and upon these nail three cleats, made of 
boards six inches wide and four feet long. Nail one cleat in center, and the 
other two six or eight inches from the ends of the boards, as shown in engrav- 
ing. Use wrought nails, and clinch them. 



66 



BUILDING BOARD FENCES. 



When these sections are set up, the ends of the boards lap by each other. 
To hold the fence up, put cross stakes between the top and second boards, and 





SECTION OP PORTABLE FENCE. 

drive the stakes into the ground. The stakes must be put through where the 
boards lap. The widest space on the fence should be between the top and 
next to the top boards, so that the stakes will not be spread too much at the 
base, or the boards may be notched or beveled where the long stakes pass. 

For sheep pens it is best to have all the 
bracing from the outside. This may be done 
by abandoning the stakes, and using a single brace 
and two short stakes driven each side of the 
lap of the lower board straight down. For the 
brace take a piece of fence board of sufficient 
length, according to height of fence, notch one 
end so as to slip down upon the lap of the top 
boards, and put a staple in near the lower end, 
through which pass a stake bracing out from the 
fence, as represented in illustration. 

After everything is prepared, the fence may be 
quickly put up and taken down again, as the stakes need not be long. 

'Repairing' Old Board Fences. — Where the nail holes under the 
batten cleats have rotted to large size, and the boards have become loose, put 
on new facing cleats, and use long nails, driving them up firmly, and the fence 
will be made to stand several years more. Where now and then a post has 
rotted off at the surface of the ground, and new ones are not at hand for replac- 
ing, drive a four by four sharpened scantling with a sledge hammer down close 
beside the post, until only a foot or so projects above the surface. Three inches 
above the ground saw in two inches, split away half or more of the scantling, 
and fasten to the post with large nails. 

Fireproof Soard Fence. — Make a wash of one part fine sand, and one 
part wood ashes, well sifted, and three parts lime ground up with oil, and mix 
them well together. Apply this to the fence with a brush — the first coat thin, 
the second thick. This adheres to the boards or planks so strongly, it is said, 
as to resist fire, and is, besides, impenetrable by water. 

Soard Fence in Swamps. — Where board fences are to be made upon 



PORTABLE FENCE SUPPORT. 



CONSTRUCTION OF GATES. 



67 



loamy or swampy land, the post had better be set while the ground is very wet, 
and no boring for post holes be done. Sharpen the lower ends of the post, and 
sink them by what is called the " chugging " process. Thrust them down as 
far as possible, work sidewise, lift and force down again until the desired depth is 
reached, then pack as well as can be at the surface. They will be tight when 
dry weather comes. 



CONSTRUCTION OF GATES. 



Oate that will not Sag. — A very good gate may be made as follows : 
Take two pieces of three by four scantling, one piece four or five feet long, 
according to the height of the fence, and the other twice the length of the first ; 
then let the boards into the uprights their thickness, and before nailmg them 




ROAD GATE THAT WILL NOT SAG. 



dovetail a brace into the notches already cut, running from the top of the latch 
end to the bottom of the hinge end. This brace can be made of a three-fourth 
strip of board, and should be about four inches wide. 

After putting the gate together put on battens, and nail them firmly to the 



68 



CONSTRUCTION OF GATES. 



scantling ; also nail battens in the center, and for these wrought nails should be 
used. 

To give support, a three eighth rod of iron should be fastened at the top of 
the hinge scantling, and extend down to and pass through the top of the latch 
end, with a nut upon the end so that the rod may be drawn tight. After 
tightening, cut the end of the rod off even with the nut. A good idea may- 
be gained by the illustration. 

The rod support may be used upon a picket gate, as well as upon one of 
boards. 

Another Method. — Another way, and constructed with less expense, is 
to dovetail the brace from the lower end of the front to the top of tbe hinge 
scantling, nailing firmly where the brace crosses the boards with wrought nails. 
This dispenses with the use of the rod, but does not look as well for a road 
gate. 




DOUBLE OR HINGELESS GATE. 



Set the post upon which the gate is to hang firmly in the ground, and let it 
extend a foot further above the earth than the hinge scantling is long. Use 
solid hinges, and put them on about fifteen inches from the ends of the long 
gate bar. 

Gates made after the foregoing directions are not new or uncommon, but 
after trying several different plans for constructing, I have found none mo r 
satisfactory. Where such gates can be hung to the corner of a barn, or other 
out-building, they are a fixture for years. 

Pamting CJate Joints. — By putting a good coat of white lead paint into 
the notches in the scantling before putting in the boards, and then coating the 
caps before nailing them on, the durability is increased. 

Hingeless Crate. — A hingeless gate may be made something after the 
plan of a swing bridge. The only objections to it are the action of double 
latches, and the space occupied, which must be double wagon width. A bed 
piece is set in the ground in the center, upon which the end of the scantling 
rests which supports the gate. A piece of king bolt iron is in each end of the 
scantling, which fits into holes in bed piece and cross frame. A good idea of 
the gate may be obtained from the illustration. 



CONSTRUCTION OF GATES. 69 

A Cheap Road Oate. — Take five pieces of inch boards, each ten feet 
long, one eight inches wide for the bottom strip, and each of the others four 
inches wide. Then take one piece four inches wide for one end upright, and 
one piece eight inches wide for the end piece where the hinges are to be. 
These strips are four feet long, that being high enough for any gate for ordinary- 
purposes. 

Now lay down your end pieces, then place the eight inch wide and ten feet 
long strip for the bottom, nail it at each end to the upright with wrought nails ; 
now take three of the four inch wide strips and lay them on parallel with the 
bottom one, dividing the spaces so as to leave four inches between the lower 
two boards, and six inches each space between the upper ones ; nail as before. 

Now turn the gate over, and take the remaining strip, lay it at an angle from 
the bottom, at the hinge end, to the top at the latch end ; c-ut it so that it wdll 
fit in and lie close to the long strips ; nail it. Now hang with strong hinges, 
and you have a gate that is light and will not sag very much, and just as good 
a protection against cattle as one made by the joiner, and costing from three to 
five dollars. 

Any person can put together and hang the above named gate in two hours. 

Another Method. — A gentleman gives his experience in gate making, 
which is somewhat similar to the foregoing : Take six pieces of stuff ten feet 
long, four inches wide, and one inch thick ; lay these down on a level piece on 
the ground, leaving your first bottom space two and three quarter inches wide, 
the next three inches, the next three and a half inches, the next five and a half 
inches, and the next, or top space, nine and a half inches wide ; then take the 
same kind of material and nail across the ends with annealed nails ; then nail 
on a cross brace from the upper to lower corner, also with annealed nails, so 
that it will fit neatly inside of your end pieces. 

Now turn 3"our gate over, and nail similar upright pieces across the ends, 
even with the ones on the opposite side, and one upright piece midway between 
the ends. This latter is far preferable to putting on a diagonal brace on that 
side. In such a gate there is no mortising, and, for the weight of it, it is far 
stronger than any mortised gate that can be made. 

To Mang* a Crate. — After the halves of the hinges belonging to the gate 
are put into the posts, set the gate in place and support it just as you wish it 
when hung. Now mark the places for the hinges on the gate rail, and bore the 
holes. The upper hinge have long enough, so that the nut may be loosened to 
lower the front, or screwed up to raise it at any time when the latch does not 
work well. Put a bolt above and below the spot where the hinge goes through 
the gate scanthng, to prevent the hinge splitting the piece. 

Cheap Oate Fa§teiier. — After trying all sorts of simple and compli- 
cated gate fasteners, I have never found one so satisfactory as the simple board 
slide, made as represented in the drawing. 



JO 



CONSTRUCTION OF GATES, 




CHEAP SAFETY LATCH. 



A cleat is nailed each side of the front, or latch end of the gate, and two 
short ones a few inches back each side, then a little strip of board slides be- 
tween these, resting upon the fence board. A hole is bored through the slide 

and a short pin put in. A long 
i^gJiBjl ||l||l|| ^^°^ ^^ mortised in the post to re- 
ceive the slide latch. There are 
several advantages in this arrange- 
ment ; it is cheap and simple, and if 
the gate sags, or the post is moved 
by the frost, it will not interfere with 
the fastening. Again, if any animal 
lifts the gate, the latch goes up with 
11 ^ the gate in the slot, but the gate is 
WM not unfastened, 

If the gate opens but one way, a 
jamb casing may be nailed on the 
post to stop the gate. The cleats on the gate should be just far enough from 
the facing board to give proper play to the slide, so the pin will strike 
the cleats when shpped back far enough to free the post. The pin in the latch 
slide should be only long enough to get hold of it handily, and if any animal 
should learn to sHde it, the trouble may be readily remedied by boring a gimlet 
hole through the side, where the gate is fastened, just in front of the cleat, and 
slipping a nail therein. This nail, or a piece of large wire, may be attached to 
a leather string, which can be fastened to the board above to prevent losing it. 
The gate can be opened and closed quickly, and one can depend upon its stay- 
mg in place when shut. Where the gate is made with scantling end, it will be 
necessary to cut out a piece for the slide latch. 

PeriMaiieet Crate Posts. — There are usually two important things 
neglected when posts are set. First, they are not put in deep enough, and 
second, they are too small. White oak is the best material, and if the posts are 
worked from a tree two feet in diameter all the better, leaving the part that 
goes into the earth full size — removing the bark, however — and working the 
smaller part from the heart of the stick. Set so as to have the shoulder come a 
little above the surface of the ground, to prevent rotting at that point. 

In some sections this method of post making will be a waste of timber 
too extravagant, and some more economical mode will have to be adopted ; 
but where timber is plentiful there is no way more effectual, for the post will 
last for a great number of years, and always keep an erect position. 

L.iiiilt> Brace for ^ate Posts. — If you cut the post on which to hang 
the gate, with a large, strong limb, projecting as near as possible at right 
angles with it, from the bottom or near it, and let the hmb be three feet long, 
and set the post with the Hmb the opposite side of the gate, to balance it, and 



CONSTRUCTION OF GATES. 



71 



pack well under the limb, and then put a good, flat stone or piece of timber on 
the end of it ; fill up the hole — the gate post will never sag. 

Posts of this kind may be obtained from the large limbs of oak and other 
trees, when they are cut for rails or other purposes. 

Underground Brace. — Set the post three or more feet in the ground, 
tamp well at the bottom, on the side opposite the gate ; then dig a trench six 
inches deep from one post to the other ; in this put a large scantling, or a pole 




LARGE AND CHEAP RUSTIC GATE. 

of some lasting timber fitted in between the posts. Such a post will stand erect, 
till it rots off. 

A Rustic Oate. — A large rustic gate can be made for certain localities 
that will have a very pleasing appearance. To do this, use round poles in place 
of scantling, and smaller ones in place of the boards, putting the gate together 
by boring inch and a half holes in the end pieces. The poles representing the 
boards should be tenoned with square shoulders, and level spots made on the 



72 CONSTRUCTION OF CELLARS. 

end pieces for the shoulders to rest against. In making these level spots, have 
them only large enough for the shoulders, so that bark will come to bark. The 
poles may be peeled if one desires, and painted when they become dry. 

Rustic Oate Hinges. — Just inside the hinge post set into the ground a 
piece of log six or eight inches through, and two feet long, having a smoothly 
sawed end come three or four inches above the ground. Before setting this 
rest, bore a two inch hole in the center, about three inches deep, and tenon the 
gate end piece to fit loosely, with shoulder a little rounded. Make a tenon at 
top smaller, to work in a piece driven into the gate post at the right point. Ii 
the gate does not appear to be firm enough, put a brace from top of latch end 
to top of hinge end, and fasten by bolting at each junction. This brace 
should be a pole, the same as other parts of the gate. 



CONSTRUCTION OF CELLARS. 



Underg^round Cellars, — One of the most important rooms in any 
residence is the cellar. It is singular that so many houses are built without 
well constructed underground apartments, and more singular that when cellars 
are built, so little attention is given to making them frost proof and dry. 

This neglect is not owing half so much to the amount of expense it would 
incur as to the lack of thoughtfulness, and a real appreciation of the value of a 
place for the perfect preservation of fruits and vegetables 

Thousands of people are required annually to bank up their houses for winter 
protection, and to remove the unsightly mass of dirt or sawdust when spring 
appears, thus making in a few years the expenditure of more time and labor 
than a secure wall would have cost. 

So long as a wall is to be built, the calculations should always be to make it 
frost proof, for the additional expense is not a matter of enough importance to 
'equire mention. 

The loss from poorly constructed cellars does not all come from the con- 
sumed time in banking, but from the frost penetrating when unexpected, and 
before the extra precautionary measure has been taken, or from an extra degree 
^f cold at midwinter. 

No danger need be felt of making a wall too secure against frost, and yet 
there is danger of keeping a cellar too warm. A convenient place should be 
prepared for admitting fresh air at will, and for the escape of the gases which 
generate, else fruits will rot and vegetables wither up and become worthless. 

In a ary cellar roots may be kept in a fresh condition by laying them upon 
the floor and covering with leaves, or something of the kind, slightly dampened. 



CONSTRUCTION OF CELLARS. 73 

Oood Cellar Bottoms. — Cellars should have a good bottom. Frequently 
they are rendered wet by the water that percolates through the soil from the 
eaves. When this is the case, troughs should be placed on the building, and 
means taken to conduct the water so far away that it will do no injury. Some- 
times, too, the drains are imperfect, and need looking after. 

All cellars should have a hard bottom. One made of cement is not expen- 
sive. It keeps the rats from working under the wall, and making quite too- 
free a use of the stores of fat things. Cement makes a good bottom, which 
may at any time be swept like any other floor. 

Cellar WindoAVS. — Generally a cellar should be darkened in the winter. 
The usual way is to bank up the windows with tan bark, dirt, or straw. The 
windows should be double, and to keep out light and frost, have shutters on the 
inside which can be removed at pleasure. In this way you can regulate the 
light and ventilation as you desire. 

Bins and Shelves. — Bins and fruit shelves are usually made of pieces of 
boards, all sizes, and of such as can be used in no other way, put together with 
pins and propped up by pieces of timber from the wood yard, or broken bricks- 
and stones. Such bins are a nuisance, and should never be found in the cellar 
of any one. A little good lumber and mechanical labor for a day or two would 
fix things up to your liking. The work will pay : first, in better preservation of 
the fruits and vegetables stored therein ; and, second, in the satisfaction of 
having it as it should be. 

Cellar Brainage. — A residence should always be located where good 
drainage can be secured. When making the excavation, dig, for the wall, ten 
inches or a foot below the point where the cellar floor is to be ; then have the 
drain as low as the bottom of the wall. The wall should be well cemented. By 
such a plan the cellar can always be kept dry. If the wall only goes to the cel- 
lar botom, in a wet time the water will soak down the outer surface of the wall 
and then pass under and dampen the cellar bottom. Tile drain is highly com- 
mended by some. It should go entirely around the foundation. To remedy a 
wet cellar already built, sink a channel nearly a foot deep entirely around, close 
to the wall, and lay a course of drain tiles in the bottom, which will cut off all 
water veins, and thus render the cellar quite dry, by conducting the water into- 
the tiles before it can work through or under the wall. 

Up-Crround Cellars, — On the construction of outdoor cellars, I can- 
not do better than to annex the modes of building furnished me by men who 
have tested cheap and yet most convenient structures, which perfectly withstand 
the effects of frost. 

One writes : Dig a trench nine inches wide and a foot deep, lay a wall with 
lime mortar, six inches above the ground. For sills, take two joists, two by six; 
set them on the wall edgewise, five inches apart ; use studding two by nine, 
nine feet in length. Match the bottom of studs on each edge, so that they will 



74 CONSTRUCTION OF CELLARS. 

fill the space between the sills, and be even with the out edge— spike to the 
sills. Spike on one foot from top of stud joist two by six. 

For plate use same joist spiked on top of stud ; lay a good matched floor on 
joist to the stud, ceil outside and inside from the bottom up to the floor or ceil- 
ing. Set a two inch partition round the inside, letting the bottom rest on flat 
stone, fastening the top to the joist overhead so as to leave a space of three 
inches for dead air. Put on a good roof ; put in double sash windows for win- 
ter, one in each end, so as to have a good circulation of air. Protect with 
blinds. 

Cement the bottom with water lime and gravel clear to the stone wall, four 
inches thick. After the cement is hardened, lath and plaster the sides with two 
good coats of mortar ; then cement the bottom with another coat of water lime, 
and gravel one inch thick. Be sure and leave no cracks round the edges, and 
it will be rat proof. A small door is necessary in one end above the floor for 
putting in sawdust ; fill all the spaces between the studding to the roof, cover- 
ing the upper floor a foot thick. If it connects with a living room (which it 
should) a single door for entrance is all that is necessary. 

Another Method. — An excavation is made the size desired for the cellar, 
two feet deep, and a wall one foot thick, of brick well cemented, laid around 
■outside from the bottom up one foot above ground. Double sills of four by 
four scantling are used, one piece coming even with the surface of the outside 
wall and the other three inches back from the inside surface, thus leaving one 
inch space between the two pieces used for sills. No studding is used. 

The sides are then boarded up and down with common lumber which has 
been brought to a thickness by running it through a planing machine. On the 
two sides, the boards used are but four feet long, but the ends are long enough 
to run up and form the gable. After the outside is all put on, strips of cloth are 
pasted over the cracks on both sides, and then battens nailed on over these. 

After the inside has been boarded up, the cracks are covered on one side — 
as but one side can be reached — with cloth and cleats one inch thick and three 
inches wide. The rafters are of lumber one and one half by six inches. 
Double roof boarding is used, so as to break joints thoroughly, and common 
shingles put on. The under sides of the rafters are boarded over, cloths put 
on, and cleats, the same as inside of wall ; then the whole interior is lathed upon 
the battens, and a heavy coat of plaster put on. 

When, the inside walls are finished, they are straight from top to bottom, as 
the sills are three inches back ; the boarding, battens, lath and mortar, bring it 
out even with the inside surface of the brick wall. Nothing is put between the 
two walls, and therefore the cellar is dry and cool in summer, and perfectly se- 
cure against frost in winter. 

Double doors are made, one to swing out and the other to swing in, and a small 
double sashed window in the gable end, which is sufficient for lighting the 



WALKS ABOUT THE PREMISES. 75 

room. Where the ground is low, it would be better not to dig into the earth, 
but have the cellar entirely above ground, unless thorough drainage can be 
given, In any case, the bottom should be gravelled and well cemented. 

When the cellar is entirely above ground, it is not as secure against frost as 
Avhen partly below, but with a little care during the coldest of weather all dam- 
age to fruits and vegetables may be averted, by setting in a kettle of live coals 
often enough to keep the air above a freezing point, or if preferred, a small 
stove may be used. 

Cheap Cask Cellar. — For keeping vegetables no cheaper construction 
can be made than sinking a headless barrel into the ground half its depth, and 
banking the dirt from the excavation around the protruding part. A box with 
top and bottom out, will do as well. After filling, cover the top with a close 
fitting lid, and when cold weather comes, throw over the cask or box a good 
supply of refuse straw or hay. It is desirable, of course, to have it constructed 
on a side hill, or with some sqrt of drainage. A short declining ditch with a 
couple of rails thrown in with a few cornstalks, and covered, will afford ample 
drainage. Vegetables will keep as fresh in this as when first deposited. 



WALKS ABOUT THE PREMISES. 



Portable Walk§. — If there is one convenience neglected more than 
others in the out-door arrangement about a dwelling house, it is the walks 
leading from the outside door to the different points that are hourly traveled by 
members of the family. Usually a few planks or bits of boards are thrown 
'down, to serve the purpose of keeping the feet from coming in contact with the 
dust or mud, as the state of the weather may necessitate. 

It is evident that but few realize how easily the matter may be remedied, from 
the fact that but few provide against it. Portable plank walks may be made for 
a few dollars expense, which will doubly pay all cost the first winter in comfort, 
preservation of shoe leather, and health preserved in the household. 

ISlab Walk§. — A cheap walk may be made of wide slabs "spotted " on the 
convex side at ends, and in center, so that they will rest squarely upon 
pieces of scantling. Nail the slabs to the scantling securely, making each 
length a separate section of the walk, so they may be taken up at will or placed 
in new positions. These, of course, are only to be used around the back of 
the house. 

Stationary Walks. — A stationary slab walk may be made that will last 
for many years, and not only insure dry footing, but may be passed over with a 
^yvagon or carriage without damage. Get wide slabs with straight edges and 
brmg them to uniform width, no matter how long they are, the longer uic 



76 WALKS ABOUT THE PREMISES. 

better. Excavate a channel in the ground to correspond with the convex side 
of the slab. Let the flat surface of the slabs appear even with the surface of 
the ground. After they are firmly bedded, bore two inch auger holes through 
the slabs about one foot from each end, and drive strong wooden pins two feet 
long through each hole into the ground. 

In case some of the slabs are to be laid over hollows or depressions in the 
ground, block them up with stones or wood, and haul a load of clay or sods to, 
fill up the low places even with the top of the slabs. 

Board IrValks. — Take boards of good thickness, or planks, and spike 
them to scantlings as long as the boards are wide. If the lumber is not more 
than an inch, a piece of two by four scantling should be put under every three 
or four feet. A board twelve feet long should have four scantling rests. It is 
best to make them in sections. After the ground has settled in the spring, the 
sections of the walk may be taken up and stored away, or if preferred, allow^ed 
to remain in their places. On general principles, it is best when you build 
walks to make good ones ; they are not only secure, but cheapest, all things 
considered. 

Sawdust Walks. — Walks are sometimes made by mixing sawdust and 
sand, equal parts, and confining it in a body, by placing bricks or narrow planks 
on edges along the outer sides. Leached ashes may be incorporated with saw- 
dust if sand is not to be had readily, serving the purpose nearly as well. 

This style of walk is not to be commended where means and material will 
permit of better. The chief objection is in particles of the material adhering 
to the feet and being conveyed to the house. 

Cement Oravel Walks. — Having previously graded and rolled the 
ground, heat coal or gas tar very hot, and with a long handled dipper begin at 
one end of a pile of quite coarse gravel, pouring on the tar, quickly shoveling 
over and over so as to mix thoroughly. Cover the ground two and one half or 
three inches deep with the tarred gravel, and then roll. Clean the roller with a 
broom as you proceed. Then put on a layer of fine tarred gravel one and a 
half inches thick, and roll. Then sprinkle the surface with hot tar, spreading 
the same with a broom ; finally cover the surface with a coat of fine sand, and 
your walk is complete and ready for use. It will improve in hardness by age. 

The disagreeable smell that at first arises, especially in the evening, soon 
passes away. Walks of this ki«nd become very hard, and will stand rough 
usage. 

Asplialtum Walks. — Asphaltum walks are sometimes made by adding 
lime, as follows : After grading, lay out the walk as wide as desired, then ex- 
cavate three or four inches. Two by four scantUng is then laid down along 
the sides of the excavation and staked firmly in position. The stakes should 
not project above the upper surface of the scantling. 

In the bottom of the trench, a layer two or two and a half inches deep of 



WALKS ABOUT THE PREMISES. TJ 

coarse gravel is then spread, the coarsest stones to be no larger than hen's 
eggs. This layer is saturated with a mixture of hot tar and a little water lime. 
While this is yet moist, a second layer two inches thick of fine gravel is spread 
on, and worked down smooth and hard. This also is saturated with gas tar 
and water lime. A final coat of sand is now spread over this, raising the sur- 
face an inch or more higher than the scantling. It is quite important that the 
walk shall be a little rounding, so as to shed water effectually. 

Making Curved Walk§. — Where curved walks are desired in lawns, 

^ ^ ^ ^ or ornamental gardens, a quick and 

S^ ^n uiililldU jJliHI n effectual way of laying them out is by 

^^^1 ^'*N^ the use of a clothes line, as illustrated, 

^Ssf^^ \ ^^^ ^^ ^^^^ until the desired curve is 

y^ffl "^^V j obtained, then stick small stakes along 

iWm^ ^V. y ^^ rope the whole length. Now cut 

(f \ \ |^ . •" "-^^^ii^^^^ ^l^ir^* -i"*^- a stick the desired width of the walk, 

^--^ ~^^^^^ and using this for a spacer, set the 

second row of stakes, and you have 
LAYING OUT A CURVED WALK. ^he curvcs completc. 

The stakes should be left in position until the walk is finished. 
Clean Oravel Walks. — Where gravel can be readily obtained it may 
be used profitably for making walks about the house and garden, and will prove 
not only very durable, but always clean and attractive. The soil should be 
thrown out where the walk is to be made until a hard foundation is found, even 
if it is necessary to go down eight or ten inches. 

Now fill the excavation to near the surface with coarse gravel, and cover this 
with fine gravel, free from vegetable mold. If grass works in from the border, 
give it a drenching with brine, and the encroachment will end at once. 

Another way to form the body of a walk is to fill the excavation with black- 
smith's and ironfounder's cinders, or pieces of old brick, old mortar, lime 
siftings, oyster and clam shells, or anything else of a similar character. Then 
cover the surface with about two inches of sharp, clean gravel, that is free from 
mold, or anything that will promote the growth of vegetation. 

For the under bed broken stone packs better than coarse gravel, but the 
builder must consult his own conveniences in this matter. Where the ground 
is flat and retentive of water, a tile drain, a foot or two below the walk, will 
make a great improvement. Gravel walks, well made, will last generations. 

Frequent rolling is one of the best preventives of weeds, as it keeps the sur- 
face so hard and smooth that weeds cannot readily grow upon it, and are as 
liable to be blown off again as they are to be blown there. 

It is said that the walks on the Centennial grounds at Philadelphia were 
covered with a mixture of eight parts of pitch and sixty -four of sand and gp'avel, 
which made a cheap and durable cement. 



78 HOW TO BUILD AN ICE-HOUSE. 

HOW TO BUILD AN ICE-HOUSE. 



Idd^cation of Ice-House. — The best location for an ice-house is upon 
the north side of a building, but it should not be under the eaves. The best 
soil on which to build is one that is sufficiently porous to allow the water to 
leach through without the necessity of using a drain, as this makes way for a 
current of air which tends to equalize the temperature within to that without. 
If the soil requires a drain, the outer end should be so closed up that air cur- 
rents cannot penetrate the interior. If the soil is not sandy and porous, the 
site for an ice-house, to be built above ground, should be so elevated that the 
water from the eaves, and that from the melting ice, can be conducted off with- 
out difficulty. 

Foundation for Ice-House. — If a very cheap construction is to be 
built, and the soil is clay, take a few poles, rails, or scantling, about ten feet 
long, and lay them upon the ground, a foot or so apart, until the breadth of the 
bed is equal to the length, /. <?., ten feet square. Fill between with sawdust, and 
cover with boards or slabs (one thickness), and put on a good bed of sawdust,, 
and the platform is. ready for the ice. 

If the soil is porous the builder may excavate three or four feet deep, ten or 
twelve feet square, and lay down scantling and cover with rough boards for a 
floor. It is not necessary to excavate, however, but is more convenient for 
filling. If the soil is gravelly, dig a pit, and fill with round stones, and cover 
with sand first and then sawdust. The water will escape easily through the 
sand and stones, and there will be no chance for currents o. air to flow upward 
into the house. Use old sawdust. That which is new is liable to ferment and 
give off heat when thoroughly packed. 

^Walls for Ice-House, — 'After the founaation is ready, at the four 
corners set up studding, two by eight inch stuff, eight feet long, and at distances 
of three feet apart, if inch boards are used for cover. The covering boards 
should be well seasoned, so as to make tight joints. The outer wall, as high as 
the surface of the ground, may be nailed on the studs before they are set down 
upon the floor. Board up on both sides of the studs to the top, and pack the 
earth around the outer wall, leaving it to descend in all directions to carry off 
the surface water; then fill the space between the boards (eight inches) to the 
top of the wall with fine charcoal, dry sawdust, or tan bark well packed down ; 
or you may lay rails and put up studding in a double row, and fill between with 
sawdust or tan bark, well pressed down. 

lioof for Ice-House. — After filling up the sides, nail a strip of board 
nicely over the top, to prevent rats or mice from burrowing within. Upon this 
the rafters may be allowed to rest, or the roof may be made of whole boards,, 
running up to the ridge, and battened ; in either case the roof should project 



HOW TO BUILD AN ICE-HOUSE. 79^ 

well over the wall on all sides. Lay on joist before the roof is put on ; nail a 
floor upon these, and give a good coating of sawdust. This obviates the 
necessity of double roofing. 

The roof should be quarter pitch, either of boards, battened, or shingled. 
In many parts of the country roofing-paper is employed instead of shingles. 
Such paper is very strong, and impervious to water, so that after a heavy coat 
of paint is applied to the surface the roof will be as tight as tin , but I do not 
like a roof sufficiently tight to exclude air. 

Tentilating an Ice-House. — In the gable end of the house a small 
door should be constructed, that may be opened and closed at pleasure. It 
may be simply a piece of board six by eight inches, hung with light iron or 
even leather hinges, and shutting against cleats that have been nailed upon the 
inside. When laying the floor beneath the roof, saw out a place six inches 
square, and tack around on each side pieces of board six or eight inches long, 
extending up as a tube through the sawdust. This is a cheap ventilator. 

The Ice-House Door. — On the north side there should be two center 
posts, so as to form a doorway, which may be supplied with slip-boards on the 
inside. The space for the door should be no larger than is absolutely necessary 
— say two and one half feet wide and five feet high. The entrance should be 
protected by a door on the outside, opening out, and slip-boards used on the 
other side of the studding for the sawdust or straw around the ice to rest 
against. This forms what may be termed double doors, leaving an air chamber 
of some eight inches between the two. The advantages of the inside being of 
slip-boards, is, the boards may be removed from the top as ice is taken out^ 
making no great exposure to the outside atmosphere. 

How to Pack Ice. — As a foundation, put in a good bedding of some 
non-conductor of heat ; spent tan bark, rye straw, charcoal and sawdust are 
all good for this purpose, but the latter is the best, and the others should not 
be used if this can be obtained handily ; it is sweet, porous, and does not decay 
or become musty, so as to affect the ice, and through it is good drainage. 

Pack up the cakes when the weather is cold ; fill all the interstices with 
pulverized ice, and then pour on water, and the whole will be frozen into a solid 
cake. The cakes should not be placed against the walls, but left off a few 
inches. This space is to be packed with straw, or, what is better, shavings. 
When the house is full, put shavings or straw on top. Fine clean shavings of 
pine or other resinous wood will be found most reliable for covering the ice. 
The more ice is secured in a body, the longer will it be kept from melting. 

Quantity of Ice Stored. — A pile of ice, ten feet square and ten feet 
high, will contain about twenty-five tons ; one, twenty feet square, and ten feet 
high, will contain one hundred tons, allowance being made for unfilled spaces. 
Ice weighs 57 pounds to the cubic foot. Calling it 50 pounds to the cubic foot 
as piled, any one can roughly estimate the size of house required. 



Bo 



HOW TO MAKE A DOG-KENNEL. 



HOW TO MAKE A DOG KENNEL 



Kennel Bottom Board. — For an ordinary dog kennel the floor should 
be about twenty inches wide and three feet long. The bottom, or floor, is the 
first thing to make. It may be of two boards ten inches wide, fastened together 
by cleats six inches wide on the under side. Fasten the cleats on with wrought 
nails, clinched on bottom. 




KND AND BOTTOM OF DOG KENNEL. 



Hud Boards for Kennel. — Square one end of a board three quarters 
of an inch thick and ten inches wide. Measure up one edge twenty-seven 
inches, and on the opposite s^'de, eighteen inches. Draw a line from one to the 
other diagonally across and saw off the piece. Lay this on the board, long 
point to long point, and cut off again by square ends. Set the two long edges 
together, nail them to end of floor board, and you have one end complete, 
as illustrated. 




DOG KENNEL COMPLETED. 

The other end is made in the same way, but the dog hole must be cut before 
it is nailed on. Lay the pieces together and mark out the door; then with 
draw-shave or compass-saw cut the curve at top. Cut the door in size to 
correspond to the animal to occupy it. 

After the two ends are nailed on, put in a ridge pole two inches square, of 



POULTRY HOUSES, YARDS AND COOPS. 8l 

exactly the same length as the bottom ; and after beveling to conform to roof 
slope, fasten with two inch screws, put through the end pieces — two at each 
end. Now you are ready for sides and roof. 

Dog Kennel — ^ides and Roof.— It will require a board eighteen 
inches wide and thirty-seven and a half inches long for side, or by putting in a 
a girth on each side, just below terminus of slope of ends, the sides may be 
covered by boards running up and down. They should be planed to equal 
thickness, and will be bettered if matched. After nailing on, plane off to con- 
form to roof pitch. If the lumber is too hard for this, saw it as near as you can 
to pitch and then put a half inch batten board, two and a half or three inches 
wide, fitted under eaves. Put on the roof, projecting at the eaves, as repre- 
sented in the illustration. 



POULTRY HOUSES, YARDS AND COOPS. 



Double Wall Poultry House. — A poultry house need not be an ex- 
pensive building to be convenient, and to answer well the purpose intended. 
Designs for hen houses are numerous, but the chief thing is to so construct 
them that free ventilation can be given at all times ; so that the nests may be 
reached without disturbing the poultry ; so that feed may be given in variety 
and easily, and the apartments made light and cheerful. A very essential thing 
is warmth in winter, and cleanliness should be observed at all times. 

Until people pay more attention to providing comfortable quarters for their 
fowls during winter, and a place where they may be secured during the garden- 
ing season, they will not obtain from them the profits that may be desired. 
Where hens roost in open sheds or trees during cold weather, no eggs may be 
expected, and if expected they will not be obtained, and where the flocks roam 
at will during the time of putting in garden seeds, more trouble and vexation is 
caused to the owner than the fowls are worth. 

To make the poultry house warm, double walls are best. The studding 
should be three inches deep and the outside covering battened. 

Lumber for Poultry House. — The inside may be boarded up with 
old boards and no battens. The expense need not be great. If a better quality 
of lumber is at hand, or can be conveniently obtained, all the better. Third 
class pine lumber is good for this purpose. It is claimed that the more pitch 
the wood contains, the more completely will poultr)"- vermin be kept out. 

Size of Poultry House.— A poultry house may be built of any size one 
may choose ; however, twelve by fifteen feet is large enough for the wants of 
most people, while one eight by ten will do in many cases. The interior can be 



82 POULTRY HOUSES, YARDS AND COOPS. 

constructed to meet the taste of the builder. There is no well organized plan 
to be given ; every one will be governed by the number of fowls he keeps. 

Construction of Poultry Mouse. — One correspondent says he made 
a satisfactory house for poultry without much expenditure, as follows : Size, ten 
by twelve feet ; posts, eight feet high, with third pitch to the roof. He put a 
floor in three feet from the ground ; left the south end open up to the floor ; 
made a hole in the center of the floor eighteen inches square, for the hens to 
fly up from the yard ; a door in south end above the floor, to go in to clean it 
out, etc., and a three lighted sliding window in the north end, with slats to keep 
the hens from breaking the glass. 

The roosts are put in lengthwise on each side of the floor, the first one being 
placed about eighteen inches from the floor, and a foot from the side. The 
next is a little farther from the side and a little higher, and so on till they reach 
the center, making four on a side. They are put in so they can be easily taken 
out if necessary. 

Boxes are placed in the floor underneath for the hens to lay in. The opening 
makes it convenient to feed the hens. There are no holes in the floor but the 
one in the center, and no animal can get at the hens easily, and owls can hardly 
find the way to them. A trap door can be shut in cold weather. 

The egg boxes are made so small that but a single hen may occupy one at a 
time, and are placed upon racks so that they may be taken down at will and 
cleaned of vermin after the hen has hatched out a brood. The proper time for 
gathering eggs is just at nightfall after the fowls have taken to the roost. The 
loft is entered by means of a door in the back end. 

Poultry House Doors. — It is advisable to have double doors to the 
house ; the outside one of boards and the inside one of slats. In winter, both 
may be closed, and in summer the outside doors left open, and the lath shut, 
which affords free circulation of air. There is nothing worse than a close, hot 
hen house in midsummer. 

Means of Cleaning. — A very good plan, given by a poultry fancier, is to 
keep the floor covered with road sand (obtained in the summer) two or three 
inches in depth. The roosts, two feet and a half from the floor, are pieces 
of joist three inches wide, rounded at the top, with a groove one quarter of an 
inch deep cut in the center, which is filled with kerosene once a fortnight. 
Under each is a board, two feet wide and two feet from the floor, to catch the 
droppings, which are removed often and the board sprinkled with lime, air 
slaked. 

Heating and Disinfecting. — A correspondent of the Country Gentle- 
man says, that for the purpose of purifying the house, and also of warming it on 
cold nights, he finds it to be a capital plan to light a small fire of brush or green 
slicks on the middle of the floor. The doors and ventilation being closed, the 
house is thoroughly smoked ; all vermin and impure effluvia are destroyed, if 



POULTRY HOUSES, YARDS AND COOPS. 83 

the operation be performed an hour or two before the fowls go to roost, the dis- 
agreeable effects of the smoke will have disappeared. In Ireland, where the 
peasantry are famous for the production of abundance of fine eggs, the hens 
roost in an atmosphere of smoke ; so that, even if the house should be a little 
smoky at roosting time, no harm is done. 

Convenience must be consulted in the matter of nests, cleaning, etc. If 
these things are to be attended to inside the house, the latter must be large 
enough and high enough to allow abundant freedom of motion ; but if the 
house is very small, it is unnecessary ever to enter it, and one had better arrange 
it so that the eggs can be reached from the outside, which is easily done. 

Octag-on PoMltry House. — Those desirous of keeping from fifty to 
one hundred fowls will find the octagon style of a house just the thing for them, 
says a poultry raiser. It is more ornamental than the oblong house, and 
economizes room, where that essential is required. The object of placing it on 
piles is to prevent the encroachment of rats and other animals that prove so 
destructive to eggs and fowls when not properly protected. The structure is 
not a costly one ; any person used to handling tools can construct it at a merely 
nominal expense, adding ornamentation to the structure as he desires. 

Size of Octagon Poultry Mouse. — The building is twenty feet in 
diameter, and six and a half feet high. The sills are four by four, and the 
plates three by four joists, halved and nailed at the joints. It is sided with inch 
and a quarter plank, tongued and grooved. No upright timbers are used. The 
floor and roofing are of the same kind of plank. To guard against leakage by 
shrinkage, the joints may be battened with laths, or other strips of thin board. 
An eight square frame supports the top of the rafters, leaving an opening of 
ten inches in diameter, on which is placed an octagon chimney for a ventilator, 
which makes a very pretty finish. The piers should be two feet high, and set 
on flat stones. 

Construction of Octagon Poultry House. — There should be a 
door on the south side, and a small circular window on each of the other sides, 
latticed to admit air, with shutters to close when necessary. A small opening 
should be made on the southeast side near the sill, and steps leading from the 
ground to the opening for the fowls to alight on when going in. There are 
roosts placed spirally, one end attached to a post near the center of the room, 
and the other end to the wall ; the first, or lowermost one, two feet from the 
floor, and the other eighteen inches apart, and rising gradually to the top six 
feet from the floor. 

There is a board floor on an angle of about forty-five degrees, to catch and 
carry down the droppings of the fowls. This arrangement renders it much 
more convenient in cleaning out the manure, which should be frequently done. 
The space beneath this floor is appropriated to nests, fifteen inches wide, 
eighteen inches deep, and eighteen inches high. 



8/- POULTRY HOUSES, YARDS AND COOPS. 

In order to give an appearance of secretiveness, which it is well known the 
hen is partial to, the front is latticed with strips of lath. By this arrangement 
a free circulation of air is admitted, which adds much to the comfort of the hens 
while sitting. 

Portable Poultry Fence. — Where it is desired to change the position 
of the poultry yard, the same may be made with a movable fence (see " Portable 
Picket Fence," page 6i), and constructed in any desired form. 

Permanent Poultry Yard. — Where the yard is to be permanent, it 
may be enclosed by posts and pickets. The posts should be two by four inches 
at one end, and four by six inches at the other ; these posts should be twelve 
feet long, and three and one-half feet of the lower, or larger end, placed in the 
ground, and the posts six feet apart. Next spike on three rails of two by three 
inches each, and finish by strips nailed on the inside of the yard, each ten 
feet long and three inches wide at the bottom, running to one inch wide at the 
top and one inch thick, the strips fit closely together at the bottom perpendicu- 
larly. A base board, twelve inches wide at the bottom, may be put on, and the 
strips fitted to it ; it may be omitted or used at pleasure ; the appearance is 
better with it. 

Cheap IrYIre and Lath Fence. — Set posts firmly in the ground, six 
feet high, eight feet apart. Take No. 9 wire, and stretch from post to post 
outside, fastening with staples made of wire driven into posts. Place three 
wires one inch apart, one foot from the ground ; another three at three feet ten 
inches from the ground ; another three at top of posts. Take common laths 
and weave in, leaving three inches space between sides of each. This makes 
the fence four feet high. Then take other laths, picket one end, and chamfer 
the other like a chisel blade, and interweave among the top wires ; then shove 
the chamfered edge down beside the top of the bottom lath, lapping under wires 
two inches. This makes a cheap, durable, pretty fence, that is seven feet and 
ten inches high, and fowl-tight. Wires should be left somewhat slack, as inter- 
weaving the laths will take it up. 

Clieap Men Ladder. — Take a plank two inches thick and eight or more 
wide, place it from the roosts to the floor at an angle of forty-five degrees or 
less, and upon the upper side nail little cleats one inch square, and length of 
the width of the plank, five inches apart. This is a cheap and useful con- 
venience, and the hens very soon learn to use the device. 

Coops for Cliick.en§. — It is a very common custom to shut a hen up 
in a small box or barrel, with stakes driven at one end, to allow the chicks to 
run out. This is unkind treatment, for it is as natural for a hen to scratch for 
her young as for a mother to fondle and talk to her baby, and besides, this 
wallowing is healthy for poultry — it is the natural means of destroying vermin. 
When building coops, have a compartment where protection against storms is 
perfect, and where rats, etc., may be shut out at night; but, in addition to 



THE APIARY. 85 

this, a good yard should be made, where the hen may have full access to the 
earth. 

Ho^v to Make a Cbickeii Coop. — A contributor says, that for a 
coop in which to rear very early chickens, he has adopted the following device, 
which is very satisfactory, as it affords light and warmth : 

Closely fit a window sash into a large dry goods box or frame made from 
boards for the purpose, for the front of the coop, leaving a space of four or six 
inches above the sash for a ventilator. Have a slope of five or six inches to 
the roof. Partition off in the rear end a foot or more of space in which to feed. 
Place the entrance at the side, and keep the coop dry and clean. In this way 
we can have light and comfortable quarters for early chickens, and they will 
be safe from the depredations of all their enemies. When the sash is no longer 
needed, it can be removed and slats put in its place. 

Portable Coops for Fo\rls, — A correspondent says, that he keeps his 
fowls during summer, in portable coops on the grass, moving them each morn- 
ing. He finds the plan convenient and profitable. His coops are cheaply and 
easily made. They are twelve feet long by four feet wide on the ground, the 
sides running to a point at the top. About four feet at one end is inclosed for 
a roosting place, and less space at the other end for nests. To strengthen the 
sides he nails a strip half way up on each side, the ends of which extend so as 
to form handles for moving the coop. In such a coop he keeps ten to twelve 
hens They are allowed to run at large when they will do no damage, but dur- 
ing most of the summer are kept in the coops. 



THE APIARY. 



Cheap Bee Hive. — On the subject of hives and houses for bees, a whole 
book can be written, but here only a few hints will be given for the benefit of 
those who wish to make a start and have not the means for patent hives and 
expensive outfits. Any one outside of a city may keep bees, if he so desire, 
with good returns, and but a trifling expenditure. 

Bees are not very particular as to the external appearance of their habitations. 
They will store honey in a nail keg. a box, a gum or hollow tree. A very good 
proportion for a common box hive is fourteen inches square, by sixteen inches 
in height. The lumber should be of two widths, twelve and fourteen inches, 
dressed both sides. This, when nailed together, will make the inside twelve 
inches square, providing the lumber is one inch thick, which it should be to 
hold nails well. 

How to Make a Bee Hive. — Saw two boards twelve inches wide, 
seventeen inches long, and two of the fourteen inch lumber, same length. Cut 



S6 THE APIARY. 

one end of each by a carpenter's square. Then nail together, looking out only 
to get the bottom square. Let the top come as it will. One of the twelve inch 
pieces should be set nearly half an inch higher than the others. This is to be 
the front, and will leave an opening for bees to pass in and out. 

The hive is to rest upon only three sides. After nailing the body together, 
square the top all around and saw it off so as to leave it sixteen inches high. 
Now make a top board sixteen inches square. This will allow a projection of 
an inch on each side. If the cap or top does not set down firmly, the use of a 
plane will soon adjust it. Nail on securely, then bevel the top back two inches, 
and half the thickness of the board. Do this all around for appearance' sake. 
It may be done with a draw shovel and smoothed with the plane. 

Now in the center of the front and back and six inches below the cap, bore 
five-eighth holes, and drive a rod through, cutting off the ends smooth with 
outer surface ; then in center of the two other sides and five and a half inches 
below cap, bore two more holes and drive a rod through ; this will pass just 
above first rod, and a cross will be made in the center which will answer for a 
comb support. The hive proper is now finished. Paint or not, as you see fit. 
It is not important, unless one is proud. Some bee keepers claim that it is 
better not to paint, as the moisture accumulating on the inside penetrates the 
wood and is evaporated from outer surface when not painted. 

If a box that will answer for a hive is already made, or one forgets to leave 
the opening for the bees to enter, just bevel the outer edge up an inch or so on 
one side, and so far back as to make the resting portion thin ; then with a saw 
cut numerous notches the whole length, half an inch deep and same surface 
width, after the manner of saw teeth, and the bees will enter through these 
holes. 

To Make a Honey Cap, — This may be seven inches wide, six inches 
deep and eight long, open on the bottom side, which should be the large sur- 
face. Before nailing together, cut out of one end-piece a hole four inches 
square ; over this hole lay a piece of window glass four and a half inches square. 
Cut as directed under head of "cutting glass," and mark around the edge 
with the point of a sharp knife ; then let the glass in just its thickness, and 
secure by cementing. 

The cementing should be done after nailing the box together. Now make a 
little cap to cover the glass, and fasten this with a couple of screws on outside, 
so as to make the box dark, for bees will not work in the light. Now bore two 
or three half inch holes in a row in the center of the top of the hive, making 
them smooth, and set the cap on, and the whole is ready for an occupancy. 

The cap need not be put on until well into the summer, as the bees will de- 
posit no honey therein, until they have laid in a winter store below. None but 
the finest make of honey will be stored in the caps. 

By removing the cover to the window, it can be told when the box is filled ; 



THE APIARY. 



87 



and then by sliding a sheet of tin under the cap to shut the bees off, it can be 
removed, emptied and replaced. A vigorous swarm vv^ill sometimes fill the 
cap twice in one season. 

Hiving- Bees. — When the bees swarm, it is not necessary to rattle tin pans 
and throw water ; a swarm will almost invariably settle before leaving for the 
woods. After they have settled, place a common dinner table under the limb 
where they hang, spread a sheet over it, then set the hive upon the sheet just to 
one side or directly underneath the cluster ; put sticks under the front corners 
only, so as to allow plenty of space for the bees to pass in ; then jar them down 
upon the table by a sudden blow upon the limb. They will rapidly make their 
way into the hive. 

If they have alighted too high to be jarred down, use a basket made as 
follows : 

Hiving Ba8li.et. — Take a rake handle, saw it off square above the crook 
for the rake head, then screw firmly to the end a piece of three-quarter inch 
board, about six inches square. Upon this board set a 
large tin pail, wooden pail or flat bottomed basket, and 
nail, tack or screw down firmly, as shown in the illustra- 
tion. 

Line inside with letter or other calendered paper. 
With this device the bees may be taken down with little 
trouble and put upon the table. Jar them into the basket 
and empty in front of the hive. A veil over the face and 
buckskin gloves will protect those who are afraid to han- 
dle bees. Set the hive upon the permanent platform at 
night. 

§tancl for Hives. — The stand or platform upon 
which the hive is to stand, should be beneath the shade 
of a tree, or protected from the sun by a structure built of 
boards. 

N. C. Mitchel, a good authority on bees, says : " We 
recommend that the hives should be set on low stands 
near the ground. Whatever is the mode of construction 
of stands, I would recommend to you to place them close 
to the ground. The benefit to be derived from this plan 
is, that weak or fatigued bees, if it should happen to be 
windy, are likely to miss the stand and fall on the ground, 
and, as they can crawl when they are unable to fly, they 
make their way to the stand and enter the hive and are ^^'''^'' '^"^ "'''''''' ^'^^• 
saved ; while if the hive had been some one or two feet from the ground, they 
would undoubtedly perish." 

The platform should incline a little to the front, so that water will run off. 




88 THE APIARY. 

and, besides, it aids the bees in clearing rubbish out of the hive. The platform 
should also project in front of the hive an inch or two, to give a lighting place. 
By giving a little backward slant to the bottom of the hiv^e, the pitch of the 
platform is overcome. 

IVinter See IIou§e. — Prominent bee men recommend the construction 
of winter quarters for bees, of straw, of any requisite size, buildmg two walls, 
that is, an outer and an inner wall of straw ; the straw is confined by stakes, 
and the space between the two walls to be filled with sawdust, or something of 
that nature ; a cheap roof, and one door. Such a place might be made cheap, 
and very warm and comfortable. It need not be very large. It can be modeled 
to suit yourself. 

As a more expensive affair, after considerable progress has been made, Mr. 
Quinby recommends a room built as follows : The room for this purpose is 
eight by sixteen feet, and seven feet high ; without any windows ; a good coat 
of plaster is put on the inside ; a space of four inches between the siding and 
lath is to be filled with sawdust. Under the bottom construct a passage for the 
admission of air, another overhead for its exit, to be closed and opened at 
pleasure in moderate weather, to give them fresh air, but closed when cold, and 
so arranged as to exclude all light. A partition also extends across, so that 
when putting in or taking out, one need to disturb only one half at once. He 
says he has wintered bees in this manner for years. Such a room will accommo- 
date about one hundred stocks of bees. The room with same proportions, as 
to length and breadth, can be made of any size. 

To Make a Bee Feeder.— Thin floats of wood laid upon a dish of 
sirup answers a very good purpose. The sirup is made of melted white sugar, 
and the wood floats are to allow the bees to get the feed, without their feet 
coming in contact with the glutinous material. 

The Bee Journal says that a good feeder may be made out of old fruit or 
oyster cans. At the tinsmith's you can get zinc shoulder and screw top, such 
as are used on kerosene oil cans. Those of one inch in diameter are the right 
size. Take the top and from the inside punch holes with the end of a file 
(small holes), being careful not to deform it. After punching eighteen to 
twenty holes evenly, turn and file the top smooth. The end or edge of the 
shoulder will fit most of the cans in the crease around the hole made for the 
cover. Fit and solder. Thus for one dime you will have a good bee-feeder as 
any yet devised — one that you can feed on sirup with, thick or thin, or water 
your bees in winter or spring. 

Or you can have a neck fitted around the opening in tlie can, and by tying a 
piece of muslin over the end of the neck, you will accomplish the same purpose 
with a little less trouble. 

To use, fill up with honey, sugar and sirup, or water, and place the neck in 
a hole over the cluster of bees. 



CONSTRUCTION OF LADDERS. 89 

CONSTRUCTION OF LADDERS. 



Lieng'tlis of Ladders. — There should be two or three ladders of different 

lengths upon the premises of every one. They are always handy about build- 
ings for making repairs, and especially useful in case of fire. One ladder should 
be long enough to reach above the eaves of the highest building, and another 
of about eight feet in length for training vines on trellises, over windows and 
door-ways, and for fruit picking ; and the third, between the two, is convenient 
for the same purposes where a higher point is to be reached, and for painting 
buildings. 

Material for Ladders. — The best material for making a ladder of 
ordinary length is red elm, sawed out one and one fourth of an inch thick. 
Where a longer ladder is desired than can be made conveniently out of saw -mill 
lumber, a pole from the forest is best, and for this many kinds of wood are used, 
such as white and black ash, cedar, cherry, tamarack and bass-wood, the letter 
being preferable, as it is very light. The rounds should be of the very best 
material, second growth hickory, oak or ash. They are as good split and worked 
Out by hand as if turned, but do not look quite so well. 

To Make a Short Ladder. — When the ladder is to be from ten to 
fourteen feet long, four inches wide at the foot, and three inches wide at the top, 
will be found about right for sides. After they are planed off and ready for 
boring, fasten them together either by clamps or nailing lightly, and lay off the 
points for the round holes fourteen inches apart, and bore with inch auger 
through both pieces at once ; a three quarter auger may be used to bore the 
upper portion of the holes if preferred. 

As to the width, it may vary to suit the convenience of the maker, from 
twenty-two to twenty-six inches at the bottom, and from fifteen to eighteen at 
the top. Eighteen and twenty-four is an ordinary size. For fruit picking, a 
narrow top is more convenient than a wide one. 

To Make a Long* Ladder. — The most trying spot in a long ladder is 
in the center ; therefore it is a good plan to make that part a little heavier than 
the ends. If sawed material cannot be obtained of sufficient lengths for a long 
ladder, it may be made from a tree. Cut a straight tall pole six or eight inches 
through at the butt ; lay it up to season in such shape that it cannot warp, and 
if bowing, bring it into line and let it remain so a few months, then shave it to 
proper size, which is about three inches thick, and the other way five inches in 
the center by three or three and a half at the ends. Now saw in two, so as to 
have side pieces one and one half inches thick. 

To bore the holes for the rounds, place the side pieces in position upon the 
floor, then with straight edge and pencil mark across the edge once in twelve 
or fourteen inches, and these marks will serve as guides for the auger in boring 



90 CONSTRUCTION OF LADDERS. 

holes for the round. If the spread of the ladder is thirty inches or three feet at 
the lower end, the bottom rounds should be inch and a quarter, while at the top, 
where the spread is not more than eighteen or twenty inches, inch rounds are 
sufficient. In a tall ladder the space between rounds should not be great, not 
over fourteen inches, and a foot is better where heavy loads are to be carried 
up. 

Puttings in the Rounds. — Make the rounds with slight shoulders and 
set all of them in one side piece first, and then put on the other side. It is 
best to give the ends of the rounds a coating of white lead and oil before put- 
ting the ladder together, as it will add greatly to the durability of the wood by 
keeping water from penetrating. Wedge a sufficient number of the rounds tO' 
prevent the ladder from coming apart. Plane the sides after sawing off the 
projecting ends, sand paper smooth, and with a rag or brush give the whole a 
^■ood coat of linseed oil. 

Very nice looking rounds can be made by squaring the stick and the cham- 
fering so as to make it eight square or octagon. 

After the ladder is finished, it should receive two good coats of paint ; blue, 
white and red are appropriate colors. If the painting cannot be readily done,, 
coat with linseed oil as before suggested. 

Paint and Fruit Ladders. — In the way of short ladders for fruit picking,, 
painting and household uses, there is no device equal to the regular step ladder,, 
and one of these may be purchased, if time is valued, for much less than it can 
be made. But there are devices for fruit ladders and ladders for general use 
combined, which may be made at home and at trifling, 
cost. A double ladder may be made of inch hard 
wood boards five inches wide, with either rounds or 
board steps, that will be self-supporting, and may be 
separated for other uses. 

Another device, from the American Agriculturist, is 
very good, as it may be applied to any common ladder. 

The peculiarity is in the support, which consists of . 
two stiff poles, very nearly as long as the ladder, fas- 
tened together by a bolt near the top, so that the bot- 

DOUBLE FRUIT LADDER. , , , _,, 

toms may be moved apart or nearer together. There 
are two strong hooks inserted in these poles below where they are bolted 
together, and upon these one of the upper rounds is made to rest, as shown 
in the engraving. 

Clieap Step Ladder. — A very convenient thing to have about the 
premises is a step ladder made after the style of the illustration. It is handy for 
fruit picking, painting, window washing, etc.,. and may be used m places where 
the folding step ladder cannot be taken. The following are proper propor- 
tions: Top, or foot rest, twenty inches long by nine inches wide, and one inch 




CONSTRUCTION OF LIGHTNING RODS. 



9r 



thick. Straight legs four inches wide and three feet long. Step supports five 
inches wide and forty-four inches long. Side pieces about twenty-two inches 
long and four inches wide. The back piece four inches wide and eighteen 
inches long. The ladder should be eighteen inches wide, which will allow the top 
to project an inch each side. The steps should be wide enough to correspond 




DOUBLE BRACE FRUIT LADDER. 



HANDY STEP LADDfiR. 



with the bracing legs, and three in number, at equal distances apart. The^ 
should be grooved in, but if one is not prepared to do that, they may be held in 
place by three two inch screws at each end. Whitewood boards, three-fourths 
thick, are heavy enough for all but the top. 



CONSTRUCTION OF LIGHTNING RODS. 



Uses of Lig^htning- Rods. — Lightning rods are not wholly for the pur-^ 
pose of conducting flashes of lightning to the earth, as is very commonly 
supposed, but they are a means of safety to buildings, by silently transmitting 
the electric fluid from cloud to earth during thunder storms, and no doubt 
many times prevent disruptive discharges. 

Defects in Puttings up Rods. — The rods should be well put up ; if 
not, they are no protection. If the joints are so constructed as to become 
partial insulators, a heavy charge of lightning will very likely leave the rod 
and do great injury to the building. 



92 CONSTRUCTION OF LIGHTNING RODS. 

Another important point in the putting up of rods is to have them extend into 
the ground far enough to reach moist earth. Dry earth is a poor conductor, and 
water a good one ; so, if the soil at the end of the rod is dry, electricity will 
.sometimes collect and make off to some point of attraction. 

There have been many instances where explosions have taken place after the 
electric fluid has reached the terminus of the rod, and nearly ruined the founda- 
tions of buildings. There is no danger of sinking them too deep ; so put them 
•down as far as they can be conveniently driven. 

Size of tlie Rod. — The conducting power of bodies is said to be in ratio 
•of their surfaces. If that is the case, the more surface given lightning rods 
the better protectors they become as conductors of electricity. To be safe 
conductors, they should not be less than one half inch in diameter. 

Professor Henry, of the Smithsonian Institute, says that a rod should consist 
of round iron of about one inch in diameter ; its parts, throughout the whole 
length, should be in perfect metallic continuity, by being secured together by 
coupling ferrules. 

His theory of plenty of surface is all well enough, but will scarcely be adopted 
for common use on account of extra expense required. 

Sliape of the Ligtitning' Rod. — As to shape, it makes no odds 
whether they are square, triangular or round. The object is to have sufficient 
iron in the rod to conduct the electric fluid away from the building when the 
atmosphere is very highly charged. 

Height of Rod Above Roof. — As to the height the lightning rod 
should extend above the building, the whole depends upon the size and extent 
of the edifice. It is claimed that the rod protects a radius twice the length of 
the rod above the roof, and if this be correct, it would be necessary to put two 
or more rods upon some buildings, as one rod could not be easily supported at 
the height required. On dwellings, the rods should run up beside the chimneys, 
as at these points a special protection is required. 

Fastenings and Coating. — It should be fastened to the building by iron 
■eyes, and may be insulated from these by cylinders of glass. To secure it 
from rust, coat the rod with black paint, which is itself a good conductor. 

How to Put up a Rod. — The more direct the course of the rod to 
the earth the better. Wherever it is necessary to bend the iron it should be 
•done in a regular curve, and never given a right angle. 

It is claimed by some who have given the subject a great deal of considera- 
tion, that the rod should in no place be allowed to sag ; that is, so that the 
-electrical current will be required to go up hill. There appears to be ample 
proof to verify the statement that a thunder-bolt that will pass down a very 
small wire, will break or leave a much larger one when going up. If this is a 
fact, it is not good policy to lay a rod along the ridge of a house, because there 
will be sunken spots between the supports. 



TRELLISES FOR VINES. 95 

One writer claims that in examination of many houses that have been struck 
by lightning, when supposed to be protected, he has found a sagged rod in 
every case, and further, that the electrical current left the rod at the very point 
where the ascent begun. 

Plating^s as Protections. — It is a well-established fact that metallic 
platings, eaves spouts, etc., are frequently the means of preventing disasters in 
storms. Arago says that the temple at Jerusalem, for a period of a thousand 
years, situated on an eminence in a region where thunder storms are common, 
was never struck by lightning. The reason plainly is that it was protected by- 
its thick gilding, it having been entirely overlaid with gold ; and each end of 
the roof was adorned with a long row of lances, made of iron, pointed at the 
top, and gilded. 

Metallic pipes for water conductors also extended from the roof to the cisterns 
situated under the porch. The building was therefore admirably protected 
from danger by lightning, in close accordance with the most approved principles 
of modern science. 

Buildings unprovided with rods have sometimes been struck by lightning at 
the ridge, the fluid passing along the cornice until reaching the eaves spouts, 
and thence to the earth, harmlessly. 



TRELLISES FOR VINES. 



Wire for Raspberries. — A wire trellis makes an excellent support for 
raspberry bushes, inexpensive and durable. Good oak or cedar posts should be 
set along the line of the canes, twenty-five or thirty feet apart, and No. 14 wire 
stretched thereon. A very good way is to set posts four by eight inches the 
broad way across the line of raspberry bushes, and then attach wires to each 
side. If the width is not sufficient, cleats may be put upon the posts, or 
staples driven, which will make greater space between the wires. 

Trellis for Orape Vines. — Upon this subject I cannot do better than 
give the experience of a j)rofessional vineyardist. 

To Prepare tlie Wire. — " The coils, a few at a time, are thrown on a 
wood fire on the ground, and made hot enough to burn off all dirt, and become 
well annealed, and when sufficiently cool to avoid burning the varnish, are 
passed through a mixture of coal tar and paraffine. The mixture should be 
placed in a trough near a stake, the stake being used to lean the coil against, 
while it is turned around with a stick in the mixture. My vines are planted 
eight feet apart in the row, and the posts sixteen feet apart, which is near 



-94 TRELLISES FOR VINES. 

enough. At each end I set an additional post, eight feet inside of the end one, 
and brace by placing a stout rail between them. 

How to Put up the Wire. — " When ready to put up the wire, make a 
sled (for convenience in moving about) four feet long and two feet wide. A 
turn table large enough to accommodate the largest coil is made, which works 
on a pin at the rear end of the sled. This should be bored with inch holes at 
various distances, to accommodate the different sized coils. 

"*' Place the coils on the table, put pins in the holes to hold the coils as near the 
center of the table as possible, take hold of the wire and walk with it to the 
•end of the row and fasten it around the post, commencing at the top. Previous 
to this, one hand has passed along the row and driven into each post, at the 
distances it is proposed to have the wires apart, six-penny wrought nails, half 
Avay of their length, and inclining a little upward. The wire is now placed on 
these nails and the stretcher applied. 

The l¥ire Stretcher. — " The stretcher is a very simple arrangement, 
and powerful enough to take out all crooks and even break the wire. It is 
similar to a common step-ladder, but has only three steps. It is eighteen inches 
wide and six feet long. Legs are fixed at the top near the outside, which 
work on pins independent of each other, so that they may be placed on uneven 
;ground, to properly brace back the stretcher and keep it from turning around. 
As many places are sawed out of the sides of the stretcher as there are wires 
to be put up. 

" The lower wire should be two feet from the ground, which gives room for 
hoeing. The next one should be twelve inches above this, and the upper one 
•eighteen inches from that. A roller about six inches in diameter works m the 
places sawed out in the stretcher, which is worked by two levers placed four 
inches from each end. 

•'A small hole is bored in the center of the roller with a gimlet, to put the 
■end of the wire in. After tightening the wire, place the last rod so that it 
will hol'd the roller by placing the other one crosswise behind it, turn up the 
nails loosely over the wire, except the two or three at the end next the 
stretcher. 

" Double and drive these nails up tight to hold the wire when the tension is 
taken off. Turn back the roller, and wind a little surplus wire around the posts 
for slacking with in winter. 

ISIackmg the Wire in Winter. — " The end posts should be six feet 
high, or, in other words, should be a foot higher than the top wire to lean the 
stretcher against. At setting in of cold weather, I loosen the tight nails at the 
end, and unwind the wire from the post for the winter. It is not necessary to 
have the wire very tight at any time except for appearance. I stretch pretty 
tight at first to find out weak places and get out crooks, and then slacken up 
again before driving nails." 



SCAFFOLDINGS FOR BUILDINGS. 



95 



SCAFFOLDINGS FOR BUILDINGS. 



Permanent Scaffold. — There are two essential things to be observed in 
building a scaffold : First, safety ; second, convenience. Carpenters understand 
these things, but sometimes the unprofessional wishes to make repairs upon 
buildings, new roofing, etc., and a few hints may be valuable. Beside the new 
frame of a building, where the studding is exposed, it is not a difficult matter 
to build a secure staging to work upon, but somewhat so to construct a scaffold 
beside a solid wall. 

To erect one that will be secure, take as many pieces of scantling — fence 
rails or poles will do — as will divide the breadth of the building into spaces of 
€ight feet, or, in other words, to have a rest or support once in eight feet. Find 
the distance from ground to eaves and make the staging two or three feet less 
in height by nailing to the scantling pieces of board three feet or more long, at 
right angle. Take some inch and a half planks about two feet long and four 
or five inches wide, hew off one ed^e to half an inch thickness, /. e., one edge 
full thickness, the other half inch. Now fasten these pieces to the three feet 
boards, at further end from pole, up and down, 
same as pole. Drive nails through board into 
the thick edge of the plank. Now the thing is 
ready to elevate. Set up so that the planks come 
against the siding over a post, and through the 
thinner part nail firmly to the house. The 
two scantHngs which come at the ends of the 
house will not need the plank pieces, but the 
boards should be a foot or so longer to project 
by, and be nailed to the house ends. 

After the scantlings are all up, nail strips 
from one to the other outside, to prevent the 
scaffolding swaying. In putting on the plat- 
form lay boards on first two supports, then skip 
a space and lay on again ; then put boards over 
space skipped ; that will make them lie even. 
The staging should not be any wider than 
necessary to give working space. Where the 
eaves project a good deal, the boards for rest 

will have to be longer than dimensions given, perhaps four or five feet long. 
There is usually a mistake made in scaffold building by having them too low. 
If when standing upon the staging the eaves come to the breast, it is a difficult 
matter to get upon the roof and down again. If built well up, the work will 
be found very easily performed. 




PORTABLE SCAFFOLD. 



96 DOORYARD ROCK WORK. 

Portable Scaffolding^. — Take two pieces four by four scantling, three 
feet long, halve them together at one end at right angle, and bolt them. Brace 
them well by means of two side pieces of inch board, that they may be quite 
firm. Next, take a long pole or scantling, from ten to twenty feet, according to 
the degree of elevation wanted, and cut one end of it to fit nicely into the angle 
already mentioned, when the pole itself, or scantling, stands at an angle against 
the side of the building. Repeat this process — that is, make one or two more 
of the same, and your scaffold is complete. 

By simply moving the lower ends of the poles nearer to, or farther from the 
base of the building, the entire scaffold is raised or lowered. The illustra- 
tion will give an idea as to its use. 



DOORYARD ROCK WORK. 



Plain Rockery. — People do not generally realize how much beauty may- 
be added to the dooryard or lawn by the bringing together of a few rocks and 
placing them in classical position, and decking with plants. Once built, the 
work is done for a lifetime. 

To Lay Out a Rockery. — W. A. Lindon, of Virginia, thus describes 
his way of doing the work, which, certainly, any one can imitate : 

" I took a cord with a little stake at each end, stuck one of these in the ground 
as a center, and now, with the cord eighteen inches long to the other stake, I 
marked off a circumference line around the center, giving a space one yard ini 
diameter each way for the rockery to occupy. 

Building^ the Rockery. — " I now placed my largest rock in the center, 
then selected five rocks as much alike as I could readily find over a foot tall ;. 
these were set up as pillars at equal distances along the circumference mark. 

" A wheelbarrow of good soil was now thrown in the circle, and pressed 
between the rocks, some care being observed in pressing the soil so as to incHne 
the pillars a little inward, to secure a conical shape. Mosses and vines were 
planted between the spaces of the pillars. 

" Now about one foot high in erection, long, narrow rocks were placed on each 
pillar, with one end resting on the center rock ; then narrow rocks put across 
from pillar to pillar. Made in this way, a rockery never tumbles down. Fill in 
with soil, continuing to plant vines and mosses in the interstices. 

" This process was continued till the building was five feet high — the conical 
shape well preserved till near the top, which was left flat for a pot of bright- 
flowers. Two dozen white porter bottles were inserted promiscuously in the 
soil as far down as their necks would extend in the rockery. 



DOORYARD ROCK WORK. 97 

Ijocation of a Rockery. — " The best of it is, the rockery is on the 
northern side, in a locaHty where it is difficuh to get roses or other desirable 
plants to grow, and it is almost as pretty (quite as attractive) in winter as in 
summer. 

Decorating a Rockery. — "The mosses, five varieties of different 
shades of green, are all hardy, and the vines, silver edge, solid green, and golden 
edge, have twined themselves most lovingly around the bottles and among the 
mosses, presenting thereby a most pleasing contrast. A pot of bright flowers 
is usually kept in the top, and changed as they go out of bloom for another in 
bloom." 

Fountain Rockery. — Another gentleman contributes his plan of build- 
ing a rockery and fountain combined. He says : 

" I made my fountain from a coal oil barrel, six feet of lead pipe, and one tin 
tube eighteen inches long gradually tapering to a small point. The barrel was 
cut in two pieces, one-third in one and two-thirds in the other ; the latter I 
elevated to give power to the water serving as a reservoir ; the former was 
sunken a short distance from the larger one and served as the base of the 
fountain. I passed the lead tube through the small tub near the bottom, and 
let the end come nearly to the middle ; here it was bent upward, on which was 
securely placed the tin tube, on the top of which I placed a very small thimble 
perforated with very fine holes. The tub was then duly decorated with bot- 
toms of oil lamps, fancy sticks and other odds and ends, until it had the 
appearance of being made for the purpose. 

Fountain Plants. — " The fountain being in perfect order, I commenced 
with the rocks and built them up naturally and promiscuously. Where I wanted 
my plants I would sink a pot and pile the rocks and moss around. Near the 
water's edge I placed my fuchsias, ivies, moneyworts, water lilies and such 
plants ; next came the achyranthus, some coleus and a few fuchsias ; then gera- 
niums, hehotropes, roses, abutilons, pomegranates, oleanders, etc., the larger 
reservoir being effectually hidden from view by the glossy leaves of the Madeira 
vine and the dark green of the Irish ivy. 

Fountain Sasisi. — "After the work was done and moss ferns and other 
wood plants were sprinkled in every crevice, the fountain was set at play ; then 
the wonders began; everything ran wild and reveled in the rankest growth; 
even the frailest fuchsias grew robust and strong, and were loaded with bloom 
all summer. The inside of the fountain base was lined with small stones, 
shells and pebbles, held together with moss ; and a few sagittars were planted 
in the water. 

" Then by the addition of four or five fishes from the brook the fountain was 
completed, pronounced a success, and turned over to the wood sprites and 
water elves. For if there are such things they would be sure to select such a 
place as this for their midnight revels. 



98 HOW TO MAKE A HOT BED. 

Stone for Mockery, — " My rocks were only the common limestone, my 
shells were mussel, in fact, although my materials were so common and the 
work all home made, still I think if you could have seen it you would say it was 
justly entitled to the blue. I would Hke to hear of a dozen being made after 
my pattern, only better ; and know that any one who will take the pains can 
make a rockery that will embellish the yard with new beauties, and be a con- 
tinual source of pleasure all summer. Make it where a tree will shade it just at 
noon, and then you will succeed." 



HOW TO MAKE A HOT BED. 



Starting^ a Hot Sed. — The time for starting a hot bed depends some- 
what upon the locality and the season. Generally they should be made between 
the 15th of February and the ist of March. 

Location for a Hot Bed. — Select a place where a good, free southern 
exposure may be had, and protection from north and west winds, obtained by 
building hedges or board fence. A side hill with incline to the south is a good 
location, as it is a warm locality, and affords good drainage. 

Size of tlie !Bed. — For the supply of an ordinary family, make a frame of 
two inch boards (if you have them, if not, lighter ones will do), say about ten 
feet long and five feet wide, or, what is better, procure about four pieces of hot 
bed sash, about three feet wide, and five or six feet long, and then make your 
frame so that these will cover it snugly, projecting a little at the lower side to 
afford eaves to the bed. 

Slant of the Frame. — The proper slant of your box should be about 
one inch to the foot, that is to say, the back board should be twenty inches 
high, and the front one fourteen inches high, if your bed is six feet wide, and 
then put a two inch strip across the bed where the glass laps at each place. 
Those strips should be let into the back and front boards to make them level, 
so that in moving the sashes back and forth, there will be no difficulty ; and sa 
they will keep out the cold winds. 

How to hold tlie Frame. — Procure four stakes — pieces of scantling are 
best — and sharpen one end of each ; drive them firmly into the ground at each 
corner of your frame, to which spike your frame, thus making it firm. 

Tlie Hot Bed Pit. — Dig a pit a little less than your frame, and inside 
of it, so deep that from the top of the frame to the bottom of the pit shall be 
thirty-five inches. If your land is not underlaid with gravel so as to leach the 
water down readily, you must cut a drain which will drain it quickly, and to 
the very bottom ; do not neglect this, for you might as well try to make a fire in 
water, as to raise the heat in a hot bed while saturated with water. 



HOW TO MAKE A HOT BED. 



99 



Hanure for tlie Bed. — Get some long or undecomposed manure, that 
which has never been moved is best, though any will do that has plenty of 




NO. I. SASH FRAMED READY TO PUT TOGETHER. 



litter in it, such as straw, hay or corn stalks ; if mixed with sawdust it will do, 
though it will not heat quite so quickly, but the heat will continue longer. 





NO. 2. SASH READY FOK GLASS. 



NO. 3. SASH WITH GLASS PUT IN. 



With this fill your pit about eighteen inches, shaking your manure well, so as 
to break all the lumps, at the same time tramping it firmly and evenly all over the 



lOO HOW TO MAKE A HOT BED. 

bed. If the manure is too dry, you must dampen it as you fill. Sprinkle on the 
water plentifully, for if too dry, it will not heat at all. 

If it is desired to hurry up the bed, hot water can be used to wet it down 
with. 

Soil for the Seeds. — Get the best loamy soil that can be obtained, and 
cover the heating material to the depth of six or eight inches, leveling it off 
nicely ; when this is done the bed is finished, but it has to be warmed thoroughly 
before sowing the seed ; it is warmed by putting on the sash. Bank up care- 
fully to near the top, and then let it stand to heat up until the first or rank heat 
passes off, which will generally take about four or five days. It is now ready 
to receive the seeds. 

Cheap Hot Bed Sash. — If situated so th^^t sash cannot be easily obtained 
by purchase, one may be made without requiring any great amount of 
mechanical skill. 

Three sections should be made for a bed that is nine or ten feet long. It is 
best to make the sash first, and then make the bed to the three sections. 
Forty-eight lights of glass, eight by ten inches, will be enough to cover a bed 
nearly ten feet long and five feet wide. Make three frames of lumber three 
inches wide and an inch and a quarter thick, thirty-nine and a half inches wide, and 
forty-three and a half inches long. Simply halve the corners together and cover 
with white lead paint, and screw firmly. Now find the exact center of the in- 
side space from side to side, and halve in a strip one inch square. Then find 
the exact center of the two parts and halve an inch square stick into each 
of these, as shown in No. i. Paint the connections and screw these in 
firmly as in No. 2. Down the centers of the three inch strips tack pieces half 
an inch square directly in the center. This will leave one-fourth of an inch on 
each side for the glass to rest upon. Nail half inch strips also down each side 
one-fourth of an inch from the inside edges. Paint well as tacked on. It will 
be found that the glass will fit closely between the strips. 

Lay the first light lapping one-fourth of an inch upon the end piece ; then 
lay on the second light lapping one-fourth of an inch, and so on to top, 
fasten in place by headless tacks or tins, and putty as in No. 3. Do not put 
cleats at top or bottom, as these will not allow water to run off freely. 

If one is sufficiently skilled in mechanical arts to mortise and tenon the frame 
together, so much the better ; but if made after the simple form given, and well 
cemented with good, white lead and linseed oil paint, it will last a lifetime 
when exposed only for propagating purposes. 

After Care of Hot Bed. — After the seeds are planted the work is not 
completed. Frost must be guarded against, and possibly the bed may get too 
warm. Should it become too much heated, there must be air admitted by rais- 
ing the sash sections at the back end, or better, raise them in the middle, 
which will give a freer and more uniform circulation of air. By putting your 



HOW TO MAKE A HOT BED. lOI 

hand down into the soil of the bed you can teH if the bed is too hot. To pre- 
vent the bed getting too cold, cover with straw, hay, rushes, or in fact almost 
anything to prevent the escape of heat. Leave the sash on until the plants 
have shown themselves, only removing the other covering in the middle or 
hottest part of the day ; but when the plants are plainly discernible, you can 
put an inch block under the ends of the sash to admit air. 

Straw Mat Covering". — Straw matting makes the best covering for a 
hot bed, and may be easily constructed. The first thing is to make a frame by 
nailing two side strips about three feet long on two end pieces three and a half 
feet long, of inch boards, about two inches wide ; then tie across this frame 
leng^hv^ise, four strong cords like hemp v^ool twine ; the frame will raise these 
strings about two inches. Lay on good straight rye straw ; take light, strong 
twine, wind some on small short sticks ; then with one of these to every main 
string, commence fastening. Shove the straw up close, take a half hitch around 
the straw, then continue on all four of the strings, until the mat is finished, 
which should be about four feet long and three feet wide. Cut the ends of the 
straw even. 

Leaves for a Hot Bed. — An old market gardener tells me that he has 
used forest leaves in his hot beds for a quarter of a century, and believes them 
to possess advantages over manure alone. He says that he generally com- 
mences his hot beds about the last days of February, if the weather will permit, 
for early tomatoes, egg plant, etc., using half leaves and half horse manure. 
As soon as tomato plants are six inches high, make more hot beds, using three- 
fourth leaves and one-fourth horse manure. 

He has used above fifty cords of leaves in a season, which afterward made 
some seventy-five loads of good manure, which is first-rate for composting fish 
•offal, and will nearly pay the expense of making hot beds. 

Cheap Hot Bed Cover.— A correspondent says that one of the best 
materials for covering frames besides glass is common white muslin, coated 
with the following composition : Take one quart of linseed oil, one ounce of 
sugar of lead and three ounces of resin. Pulverize the sugar of lead in a 
little oil, then add it to the other materials. 

Put all into an iron kettle, and heat it until the resin is dissolved, and the 
other ingredients are thoroughly mixed ; stretch the muslin upon the frames, 
and apply the composition while hot. Frames prepared in this manner will 
last several years, if kept under cover when not in use. 

The German Hot Bed. — Take white cotton, of a close texture, stretch 
it, and nail it on frames of any size you wish ; mix two ounces of hme water, 
four ounces of linseed oil, one ounce of white of eggs and two ounces 
of yolk of eggs ; mix the lime and oil with a very gentle heat, beat the eggs 
separately, and mix with the former. Spread this mixture with a paint brush 
over the cloth, allowing each coat to dry before applying another, until they 



I02 SEATS FOR GARDENS AND LAWNS. 

become water proof. These little, rough, square boxes, of the proper size and 
height, covered with the prepared cloth, can be placed over the hills in which 
tomato, melon or other seeds are planted, and the plants allowed to stand, 
without transplanting, until all danger of frost is over, when the boxes may be 
taken off and packed away carefully for another season. 

The advantages claimed are, that the cost is hardly one-fourth the other 
style ; that they are light and do not require watering ; no matter how intense 
the heat of the sun, the plants are never stricken down, or faded, or checked in 
growth ; neither do they grow up long, sickly and weakly, as they do under 
glass, and still there is abundance of light. 

The heat entirely arises from below, is equable and temperate, which is a 
great object. The vapor arises from the manure and earth, is condensed by 
the cool air passing over the surface of the shade, and hangs in drops upon 
the inside, and therefore the plants do not require so frequent watering. If 
the frames or stretchers are made large, they should be intersected with cross 
bars about a foot square, to support the cloth. 

To Make a CoM Frame. — The cold frame differs from the hot bed 
only by having no bottom heat. Make the frame with same incline, and facing 
either east or south. Many prefer the eastern exposure, as the bed gets the 
morning sun. It may be constructed of rough boards, two feet high in 
the rear of the bed, and only one in the front. The soil in cold beds should be 
of good quality of garden soil, and at least twelve inches deep. Before trans- 
planting, this dirt should be well forked over, making it fine and mellow, and 
then the surface rolled level. 



SEATS FOR GARDENS AND LAWNS. 



Use for Old Chairs. — Old kitchen chairs, which are too much used up 
for house use, may, with a little repairing, be made useful and ornamental for 
dooryard and garden purposes. Those chairs especially which have been 
carried off to the lumber room on account of becoming so unsightly from bruises 
and loss of paint, may be made to look pretty by giving them two or more 
good coats of bright green paint. You can buy a little box of prepared green 
at almost any store, and with a small brush and a little oil, all that is required 
is at hand. 

The chairs will be very much improved after painting, by giving a coat of 
varnish. After using what paint is desired, pour linseed oil over that remain- 
ing in the can and keep it till wanted for use again. As green is a color which 
fades in the sun considerably, give the chairs a light dressing every spring. 



SEATS FOR GARDENS AND LAWNS. I03 

They will be found so handy beneath the shade trees and in the garden that 
no one will regret the little trouble required to fit them up. 

Repairing' Cliair§. — Where cane seats or splint bottoms have given out, 
and it is not convenient to get them replaced, canvas may be used. Use a 
piece of canvas large enough to cover the opening, and go around the rods 
at the sides — if it was a splint bottom — then sew one side on firmly, then draw 
tightly (use a few tacks to hold it taut) and sew on the other sides. If it was a 
cane seat make the cloth, after it is hemmed, of sufficient size to reach on to 
the side rails half an inch or more, and tack on with brass, round headed nails 
if they can^e had, if not use common carpet tacks, A seat of this kind will 
last a long time, and be comfortable to sit upon. Paint the canvas white for 
outdoor use. 

To Clean Cane Seats. — Sometimes old cane seat chairs may be cleaned 
up for lawn use. Turn up the chair bottom, and with hot water and a sponge 




RUSTIC CHAIR. RUSTIC SETTEE. 



wash the cane work so that it may be thoroughly soaked. Should it be very 
dirty, use a little soap. Let it dry in the air, and it will be as tight and firm as 
when new, provided the cane is not broken. Then the frames may be painted 
brown or green to suit the fancy. 

Improving- Chairs. — There has always been a great lack in the construc- 
tion of chairs in making them comfortable. The backs are not of right shape, 
and the legs not of proper length. Common chairs may be considerably im- 
proved by shortening the hind legs a little. For average size male adults the front 
of the chair had better be sixteen to seventeen inches high ; for grown, full size 
women, but fourteen to fifteen inches, and proportionately less for children. 

Rustic Cliairs. — Rustic seats should be made comfortable as well as 
ornamental. Frequently comfort is ignored for the sake of novelty, but the 
work is not commendable. Nothing is better for rustic chair making than the 
limbs of trees retaining the bark. All the tools necessary are a saw, hatchet. 



I04 CONSTRUCTION OF CISTERNS. 

inch auger and hammer. One of the most durable and comfortable styles 
will be found in patterning after the old-fashioned kitchen armchair, such as 
was used by our grandfathers. Make the seat of plank. The back, sides 
and arms may be made artistic by extra pieces of curved growth. Styles in 
which this work for outdoor use may be produced are almost endless, and 
suggestions in that direction will not be necessary further than the illustration, 
as any one can exercise his or her own fancy. Where the sticks used in rustic 
work are green, a liberal quantity of nails should be driven. 



CONSTRUCTION OF CISTERNS. 



Style of Cistern. — When making a cistern, the same rules as to doing the 
work in the best possible manner apply as when building a house. If expen- 
diture cannot be afforded to make a large reservoir, without cheapening the 
work, make it small and perfect. There are, of course, some methods of con- 
struction cheaper than others, and the cheaper as good as the more expensive, 
so far as utility is concerned, the extra outlay being for surface appearance. 
Under no consideration would I consent to plaster a cistern on to the earth. 
There may be cases where they have stood well made in this way, but it is 
risky. Build up good brick walls, well cemented, and use a stone cap and then 
you have a certainty. 

Excavating for Cistern. — When the^ size for the cistern has been deter- 
mined upon, take a stick — a strip of board — and bore two holes through it as 
far apart as half the circumference of the place to be dug, then through these 
holes drive pins a few inches long, and use this as a sweep for marking the circle 
upon the surface. Dig down, making the sides as smooth and true as possible. 
If the cistern is to be jug shaped, begin to draw in when half the desired 
depth has been reached. A flat stone should be put in the bottom, if conven- 
ient to do so, with a basin dug out of the center ; then the brick wall, com- 
menced at the margin of the basin. 

Sricks for a Cistern. — Do not use soft bricks. Sooner or later they 
will slack down from moisture absorbed from the soil, and make the cement on 
the water surface insecure. Use arch brick, at least those that are made from 
good clay and well baked. One can readily tell by the looks, or testing with a 
hammer, whether fit for use in a cistern or not. 

Cement for Cisterns. — After laying the brick in good cement, the wall 
should be coated with plaster, made as follows : Clear, sharp sand, well 
screened, two parts, and water cement, one part. One peck of cement with two 



CONSTRUCTION OF CISTERNS. 105 

pecks of sand is enough to mix at a time, as it will set, and works badly if wet 
too long before using. 

Plastering on Dirt Walls. — Where the cistern is to be built without 
the use of bricks — this is not commendable — make the sides as smooth as you 
can, and commence to plaster the cistern by mixing, in an old tin pan, water 
and cement, to the consistency of milk. Hold this pan near the wall of the 
cistern, and with a shingle or something similar, dash this wash against the 
wall till it is completely wet. In a short time this will form a crust on the loose 
and sandy ground, so that common cement mortar may easily be put on m the 
ordinary way. 

Measuring a Cistern. — There are many tables in use for measuring the 
capacity of cisterns, but the most simple is always the most desirable. A very 
good rule is to square the diameter and multiply that product by the decimal 
.7854, then this product by 1728 — number of inches in a foot — and divide the 
product by the number of inches — 231 — in a gallon, and this will give you the 
capacity of the cistern in gallons to each foot in depth. Multiply by depth in 
feet to get the whole measure. If the diameter is not even feet, reduce to inches 
and omit multiplying by 1728 ; or, if the cistern has a slope, average the diam- 
eter. 

Another rule is to square the diameter and multiply the product by the deci- 
mal fraction .1865, which will give you the contents, in barrels, one foot deep; 
multiply this by the number of feet the cistern is deep, and you have the con- 
tents of the cistern in barrels and fractions of barrels. 

A more extended table is the following : For each foot of depth, the number 
of barrels answering to the different diameters, are as follows : 

For 5 ft. in diameter 4.66 bbls. 

6 " " 6.71 

7 •• " 913 

8 " " 11.93 

9 " " 15.10 

10 " " 18.65 

Multiply any of the numbers given, corresponding to the diameter of your 
cistern, by the depth, and you have the number of barrels it will hold. The 
above table is for a circular cistern. If square, the following should be used : 

5 feet by 5 holds 5.92 

6 " 6 " 8.54 

7 " 7 " 11.63 

8 " 8 " 15.19 

9 " 9 " 19-39 

10 " 10 " 23.74 

Multiply by the depth as before. 



Io6 CONSTRUCTION OF CISTERNS. 

Cistern Drain. — When walling up and plastering, the drain for surplus 
water should not be forgotten. At least a foot below the top a drain of brick 
should be put in and well cemented, if not tile, and if tile are used, they should 
be cemented at the connections, and a guard of wires placed at the further 
terminus to prevent mice and vermin going into the escape. Do not depend 
upon turning the spout off when the cistern is w^ell filled, for the result will be 
an overflow during many a heavy night storm. The drain should never be 
less than the capacity of the eaves spout, and it is better to have it a little larger. 

Cistern Covering. — The best top is a large flat stone with hole cut 
through having a cemented connection with the top bricks. Next to this twa 
inch white oak plank. 

Filtering Cisterns. — Pure soft water at the house is one of the greatest 
blessings that can be obtained. A few extra bricks and a little extra masonry 
are all that is required to make one of the cheapest and most durable filters in 
use. 

There are various ways of constructing filtering cisterns, but I shall only 
give a few of the cheaper methods. 

Briclc Filter. — Build up a wall across the center of soft brick, cemented 
at the connections, the eaves spout going into one side and the pump in the 
other. Another way is to build up a square box or well twenty inches or so 
across for the pump to stand in. The water percolates through the soft bricks, 
which takes out all impurities and leaves it healthy and wholesome. Where 
the cross partition is used as the walls go up the mason should make the parti- 
tion a little concaved, say sixteen inches in six feet. The convex side of this 
wall must be toward the side that receives the water, the concave toward the 
pump side. This gives it strength against sudden showers. 

The end of the partition wall must be strongly worked into the side walls, 
and the whole carried up so high that the water will never overflow it. When 
finished, of course, this partition is not to be plastered on the surface, as the 
water filters directly through the body of the bricks. You will get a taste of 
brick for a few weeks, in the water, but if they are new and clean, this soon 
passes away and the work is done for a lifetime. 

Charcoal Cistern Filter. — Build a partition wall a ss the cistern, hav- 
ing two-thirds on one side. Leave a number of holes through the bottom of the 
partition wall about four inches square ; then plaster the wall with not less than 
two coats, both sides. Fill up the smallest side of the partition wall with char- 
coal ; then fill up the other side about three feet with coarse sand. Let the water 
in on the charcoal ; it will pass under the partition wall up through the sand and 
be as pure as a freestone spring. It will have no taste of rain water. 

Cistern Screen. — It is an excellent plan to have the water as it comes 
from the roof go through a screen before reaching the cistern. In the fall of 
the year leaves are likely to lodge upon the roof and in the troughs and be 



WELLS AND WATER. loy 

washed down. Make a box and place it at the mouth of the cistern, and cover 
the bottom with wire gauze. The box may hold about a pailful, and have a lid that 
may be easily opened to clean the screen. The conductor from the eaves to 
the cistern should also be so arranged that the water may be prevented from 
running into the cistern during the first part of the shower, especially after a 
long dry spell, till the roof is washed from smoke, dust, etc. 



WELLS AND WATER. 



To See Dourn a Well. — When the sun is shining brightly, by use of a 

piece of looking-glass one may discover a minute object in the bottom of a 
deep well. It is only necessary to throw a ray of light down by the reflective 
power of the mirror. The same may be used upon an open body of water, 
when the surface is unruffled, for the discovery of lost articles. 

When the well is so situated that the reflection cannot be made to reach the 
perpendicular point, two mirrors can be used, or even three if necessar}-, al- 
though the power of light is somewhat lessened. 

Foul Air in Wells. — No one should descend into a well until it has 
been ascertained whether or not there is foul air or " damps" existing. To 
make the test, lower a candle or lamp slowly down by setting the same in an 
empty pail. If the light continues to burn after the vessel has reached the 
water, there will be no danger to human life in descending ; if, on the contrary, 
the light is extinguished, carbonic acid gas exists, and should be removed. A 
quick remedy is to force down in a tin or iron bucket a flame of burning straw 
or shavings. Another remedy is to sprinkle in fresh slaked lime either in 
powder or solution. A few quarts of lime, two to four, is said to be sufiflcient 
for an ordinary well, but if the well is to be cleaned, use it plentifully. 

Influence of Iron on TVater. — It is claimed that a few scraps of iron 
will prevent the bad odor from forming in water left to stand for days and 
weeks. The metal removes the free oxygen in the water, and prevents the 
decay of the organic matter that may be in the water. A better agent for 
rendering river water sweet and healthy, is to employ chloride of iron ; a very 
small quantity suffices to throw down the organic matter, and thus to purify the 
water. 

Test for Water. — Good water should be free from color, unpleasant odor 
and taste, and should quickly afford a lather with a small portion of soap. If 
half a pint of the water be placed in a perfectly clean, colorless, glass-stoppered 
bottle, a few grains of the best white lump sugar added, and the bottle freely 
exposed to the daylight in the window of a warm room, the liquid should not 



I 38 WELLS AND WATER. 

become turbid, even after exposure for a week or ten days. If the water become 
turbid, it is open to the grave suspicion of contamination ; but if it remain 
clear, it is almost certainly safe. 

To Purify Water. — Cistern water becomes foul on account of a large 
amount of organic matter derived from the roof of the house. It may be in, 
the form of germs, or may be vegetable or animal substances, This matter 
undergoes rapid decay and multiplication when the temperature is warm. 
There are two ways to correct the evil ; one is by filtering, which, unless done 
on some improved plan, is not perfect, and the second by the addition of hyper- 
manganate of potassa, used in the proportion of about an ounce to each fifty 
gallons of water. 

A chemical change takes place, and the organic matter is reduced, and the 
whole mass precipitated as a harmless , sediment. The chemical reaction is 
marked by a purple coloring, and this color indicates the presence of organic 
matter. The hypermanganate should be added until this coloring disappears. 
This preparation of potash may be obtained at any drug store. As an aid to 
keeping water pure, frequent agitation is commended. 

Another Metliod. — A little dissolved alum is effective in clearing muddy 
water. If thrown into a tub of soap-suds, the soap, curdled, and accompanied 
by the muddy particles, sinks to the bottom, leaving the water clear and pure. 
In times of scarcity of water this may be used a second time for washing 
clothes. 

A few minnow fishes put into a well is one of the best means of keeping the 
water pure, so far as worms and insects are concerned. 

To Increase the Flow of IVells. — There is a simple way of in- 
creasing the flow of wells, devised some years ago by M. Donet, of Lyons, 
France. Ordinarily the mouths of wells are left open ; hence, all along the 
water, from well to original source, there is an equilibrium of air pressure. M. 
Donet's plan is simply to close the well and pump out some of the air. This 
creates an excess of pressure to drive water into the well ; the supply is thus 
increased temporarily, and at the same time the underground channels through 
w^hich the water passes are enlarged by the stronger stream, and so the supply 
also becomes permanently augmented. 

To ©etect Hard 1-Vater. — To ascertain whether or not water be fit 
for domestic purposes, to a glassful of the water add a few drops of the solution 
of soap and alcohol. If the water be pure, it will continue limpid ; if hard, white 
flakes will be formed. 

To See Under Water. — When a body of water is frozen over, objects 
may be distinctly seen by cutting a hole through the ice, applying the face to 
the opening, and covering the head with a blanket. In the summer, a float with 
a hole curbed may be used with the blanket, and with the same effect. This 
xnay be used for the discovery of lost articles. 



MANAGEMENT OF PUMPS. 

MANAGEMENT OF PUMPS. 



109 



Repairing: Endless Chain. — When the tube of an endless chain pump 
has become so large that the buckets or carriers do not fill, take some light sole 
or heavy harness leather, and cut into circular washers large enough to fill the 
tubing ; cut holes in the centers and slip them on the chain next above the 
carriers by taking the links apart, but do not use too many ; four are enough^ 
let the well be deep or shallow ; not more than two should be in the tube at a. 
time. Many, in repairing pumps with leather, put a washer to every bucket^ 
and make the suction too great. 

To Prevent Pumps from Freezing-. — A cheap and effective way of 
preventing pumps from freezing in winter is to take flax tow or rye straw, 
and twist into ropes, two or three inches in diameter, and wrap around the 
pump, commencing at the bottom and pressing it down tightly until it reaches 
the top. By so doing, they can be kept from freezing in the coldest weather^ 
Each part of the rope may be made about fifteen feet long. 



GRAFTING AND BUDDING TREES AND VINES. 



Cleft Orafting. — Grafting should be done as soon as the buds begin to 
start freely. 

The common method of grafting in use is the cleft. The stock is cut off 
(No. i) with a fine saw, and then split down the middle with a clean, sharp 
knife or chisel ; the scion formed of the young 
wood of the previous year is then cut at the 
butt end in the shape of a wedge, and set in 
the gap. The gap is held open by a hard- 
wood wedge until the scion is in proper 
position, and then gently withdrawn. 

When the stock or branch is large, and more 
than one shoot is desirable, as in grafting old 
trees, two scions are inserted, as in illustration. 
It is necessary in grafting to bring the inner 
barks of the stock and scion together, for it is 
at this point the junction must be made to insure success, whatever may be the 
method adopted. If the stock or branch is small, it is often necessary to tie a 
string tightly around it to keep the scion in place. When this is done, cover 
with grafting wax or strips of cloth spread with grafting wax, to protect from 
the drying action of sun and wind. 





NO. 3. 



no 



GRAFTING AND BUDDING TREES AND VINES. 




NO. 4. 
SPLICE & SADDLE GRAFTING 



Splice Grafting. — Splice grafting can be best. performed when both scion 
and stock are of the same size. The simplest method is with a sharp knife to 
make a straight, sloping cut, as in No. 2 ; then cutting the scion to fit, a great 
amount of surface is thus brought into contact ; but the 
tying requires to be carefully performed, so as to retain 
the scion in place. 

A bud should, if possible, be left at the upper end of 
the cut part of the stock, and another at the lowest point 
of the scion. There are a number of modifications of 
this form, especially where the stock is larger than the 
scion. In the latter case, the inner bark of but one side 
of the stock and scion can be brought in contact. When 
tied, cover with wax. 

Saddle Crrafting. — Saddle grafting (No. 3) is a 
very good method, especially when the stock and scion 
are nearly of a size, for by this means a greater amount 
of surface is brought in contact than by any other. The 
stock should be cut into the shape of a wedge, the scion 
split and then cut out to match. Fit carefully, and there 
is little doubt that the graft will take. Tie and cover as 
in the other modes of grafting given heretofore. 

One bud to a scion is usually enough , a greater number exhausts the sap 
faster than it can ascend. 

In cut No. 4 is represented a combination of the two methods, saddle and 
spHce grafting. A strong growth is obtained in this way, and the bulge that is 
made from cleft grafting is not likely to appear so prominently in this. 

When to Bud. — The usual time for budding is from the first of July 
to the middle of August. But a more accurate rule is to be found in 
the state of the buds and the bark. The shoot from which the buds 
are taken must be of the current year's growth, and must be mature. This 
maturity will be shown by the forming of buds at the axils of the leaves, and of 
the terminal buds. The best buds for working will be found along the middle 
of the shoot. 

Plums usually finish their growth earlier than other trees ; hence, they should 
be budded earliest. Next come cherries, and then pears, etc. The bark must 
be in a condition to lift easily from the wood, and there must be sap enough 
between the two to feed the young bud, and to help form a union with it and 
the parent stock. 

Do not prune at the time of budding or just before, as it has a tendency to 
check the growth ; besides, the more your bud is shaded, the more likely it is to 
grow. Select cool and, if possible, cloudy or damp days to bud in. Late in the 
afternoon is a good time, or early in the morning. 



GRAFTING AND BUDDING TREES AND VINES. 



Ill 



Sliield-Budding. — The practical operation of budding is simple. The 
method commonly followed in this country, called shield-budding, is as follows : 
Having cut a scion containing several good buds, choose a smooth young limb 
for the operation, and, if possible, let the insertion be made on the north side of 
the limb. 

With a sharp, thin-bladed knife, cut a slit through the bark about an inch 
and a half long, and a cross cut at the top of it. Then from your scion slice out a 
^ood bud, leaving a little of the bark attached. Raise the bark of the stock. 





SHIELD-BUDDING — CUTTING AND BINDING. 



and slip the bud into the slit, and press it down to the bottom of it. Finish the 
work by tying down the bark and bud with soft string or woolen yarn, so as to 
-exclude air and moisture from all, except the point of the bud. The illustration 
Avill give a good idea of the process. 

Do the work quick, otherwise the bud will dry and be less likely to grow. A 
minute's time is long enough. Never neglect to loosen the bandages as they 
begin to cut ; generally in a week or ten days will be soon enough. In some 
cases late in the season, they may remain for weeks, but I never approve of 
leaving them on all winter. 

In selecting varieties, stick to the tried and approved sorts ; let those who 
liave more time and means do the experimenting. 

Orafting the Cherry. — A fruit grower says that grafting the cherry is 
generally attended with far less success than the pear, apple and other kinds of 
fruit trees. The principal cause of failure is that they are not grafted early 
enough in the season. The young shoots used for scions are very sensitive, 
and will not withstand the least check after the buds begin to swell in the 
spring, which is generally before most other kinds of fruit trees ; hence the neces- 



112 GRAFTING AND BUDDING TREES AND VINES. 

sity of cutting the scions early in March and then put them away in the cellar, 
covering with damp moss or some similar material that will prevent shriveling, 
and keep them sufficiently cool to keep the buds from starting into growth. 
The operation should be performed in the usual method of cleft grafting, and as 
soon as severe freezing weather is past. 

The scions should be inserted into branches of not more than one or twoj 
inches in diameter, and the greater number that are put into a large tree the* 
more certain will it be to live and remain healthy. If all the top is cut away 
and only a few scions inserted, it is likely to check growth. It is a good plan to 
only graft one-half to two-thirds of the branches in one season, grafting the 
remaining portion the next. 

Orape Vine Orafling. — It is very desirable, in many cases, to change 
the variety of grape vines in our gardens and vineyards, for the sake of testing 
new kinds, or improving the assortment, by adding one or more desirable 
varieties ; and in some cases whole vineyards have been planted with varieties 
unsuited to the soil or location, and will have to be taken up or abandoned un- 
less they can be changed by engrafting. 

This operation was at one time regarded as too difficult and uncertain to be 
practically available, but experience proves that this need not be the case ; and 
many amateur grape growers are assured that this desirable operation can be 
performed with almost as much ease and certainty as grafting an apple tree. 

Time for Orape Orafting^. — The season for doing this is any time 
during winter and early spring, when the frost is out of the ground, before the 
sap begins to move. In northern climates, where the ground is liable to remaia 
frozen till spring is fairly begun, it is best to perform the v/ork as late as can 
well be done in autumn, or during the "January thaw." 

How to €rraft Crrape Vines. — Remove the earth around the stem of 
the vine down to the roots ; saw it off about four inches above that spot, theri 
split it square across as in top grafting orchard trees, and having cut the scions 
wedge-form, set them firmly into the cleft, one on each side if the stock is art 
inch or more in diameter, or but one if smaller, taking care that the bark of 
the scion fits evenly with the bark of the stock ; then wind around tightly with 
cotton twine or other tying material which will rot off during the following 
summer and need no removing. 

No wax or other covering is necessary, except to pack the soil firmly around 
the stump and scion, leaving only the bud at the top above the surface; thea 
cover this bud with an inverted flower pot or something of the sort, to exclude 
the wet, and protect from winds, etc., surrounding it with a mound of earth, 
and covering the whole with litter, if done in autumn or winter, removing this 
covering as soon as the leaves begin to appear in spring. 

Orape Scions. — The cuttings for scions should be taken off the vines ia 
the fall or early in winter, and buried in sand or moss, if the grafting is de- 



GRAFTING AND BUDDING TREES AND VINES. II3 

layed till spring. The scions should be four to five inches long, of good hard 
wood of last year's growth, not over large, and cut with a bud at the upper 
end — if very short jointed there may be two buds on a scion. 

Soil for Orape Orafting-. — If the soil where grafting is to be per- 
formed is clayey and wet, it is well to have a few shovelfuls of sandy soil for 
packing around the grafts ; and if the position of the vines is low or flat so as 
to be exposed to standing water in times of heavy rain, it is better to cut off 
the stems above the surface, then bank up around the graft with a barrowful 
or two of soil, and cover well with litter if in winter. 

Early ^prini^ Orape Orafting. — In addition to my own experience, I 
have secured an article upon the subject of grape vine grafting from Geo. W. 
Campbell, of Ohio, a well and favorably known horticulturist. He says : 
*' Much has been written and various have been the theories and modes of 
practice advocated by those who have from time to time enlightened the public 
upon this subject. During past years I have experimented pretty largely in 
nearly all the methods I have seen recommended; and though I have had some 
measure of success in most of them, I have invariably had the best results 
from grafting in early spring, at the time when the first indications of the 
moving sap could be discovered, and before the swelling of the buds or the 
great flow of sap had commenced. 

" I have grafted in the fall ; also during mild weather in winter ; and also late 
in the spring, after the leaves had partially developed. I have sometimes also 
grafted successfully during the height of the great flow of sap, or bleeding of 
the vine, but have found none of those periods so favorable as that of the early 
spring, above indicated. 

Size of Orape Scions. — " It is also very necessary to work quickly and 
accurately, using a very keen, thin-bladed knife, and fitting the graft to the 
stock with the most perfect precision. Healthy and well-ripened wood for the 
graft is also indispensable. The best size for general use is about that of a 
common lead pencil, though I have often successfully used wood not larger 
than a knitting needle. 

L<ayer Orape Orafting. — " I have found it quite necessary that the graft 
should be below the ground ; or, if this is impracticable, as near the ground as 
possible, afterward raising a mound of earth around the graft until a union 
is formed. 

" A graft may be also inserted in the end of a branch which can be con- 
veniently layered, burying the grafted portion beneath the surface. 

Orafting Large Orape Stocks. — " In grafting large stocks, it is better 
to take out a small, thin wedge, beveled to the center and terminating in a 
point below; then cut the gratt of the same form, a little thicker than the wedge 
removed, so that when inserted it shall fit as tightly and accurately as possible. 
A better fit may be obtained in large stocks if the cleft be opened a little by a 



114 



GRAFTING AND BUDDING TREES AND VINES. 




thin chisel or similar instrument, which, upon removal after the graft is set in 
place, allows the stock to close upon it with considerable force. 

" A ligature of strong bass matting, or, in case this is not at hand, of flax or 
hemp twine, should be bound tightly 
about the stock, and the parts above the 
graft covered with clay about the con- 
sistency of soft putty. Then earth up 
to the bud upon the graft, and if there 
is danger of freezing weather, it is well 
to cover the whole graft with sand or 
light earth an inch or two above the 
bud. 

" The accompanying drawing will per- 
haps afford a better understanding of the 
method of preparing the graft and stock, 
and if the above directions are carefully 
observed I am confident satisfactory re- 
sults will follow. GRAPE VINE GRAFTING. 

Cross Crrafting Orape Vines. — " I have found little difference in results 
whatever stock was used. I have grafted upon the wild grape of our forests, 
upon nearly all the older cultivated kinds, and have also, by way of experiment, 
worked the foreign varieties upon our natives, and the natives upon the foreign, 
with equal success. If any difference has occurred worthy of notice, it has 
been against the Clinton as a stock ; for I have failed more frequently in my 
efforts to graft upon that variety than any other. 

Shadini^ Orape Grafts. — " Sometimes when grafts have been slow and 
weak in starting, I have found shading from the direct rays of the sun and oc- 
casional watering in dry weather beneficial." 

Object of Grafting lk¥ax. — The use of wax in grafting is to prevent 
the escape of sap, and prevent the exposed wood from drying up. There are 
very many different combinations of the materials used in making grafting- 
wax, in fact hardly any two operators use exactly the same combination. The 
chief object is to get a material that will work easily and at the same time with- 
stand the high and low temperature of weather and resist water. 

Frencli Grafting- Wax. — The French use a preparation applied v/ith a 
brush while warm, made as follows : Resin one pound, Burgundy pitch one 
pound, beeswax ten oz., tallow eight oz., yellow ocher eight oz. Downing 
says the common wax of the French is made of pitch one pound, beeswax one 
pound, and cow-dung two pounds. 

Liquid Grafting Wax. — A liquid wax for covering wounds when trim- 
ming, that will be a benefit especially when the cutting is severe, may be made 
r.s follows : One pound of resin, eight oz. of beeswax, eight oz. of tallow ; add 



MANAGEMENT OF TREES. II 5 

to this five oz. of alcohol in which all the gum shellac has been dissolved that 
the Hquor will cut ; then reduce the whole with alcohol until it is of proper 
thickness to be apphed with a brush. 

When but a few scions are to be set, it is not necessary to be to the trouble 
of making wax ; common clay mud may be used in its stead, and kept to its 
place by winding on tow. 

(Standard Orafting "Wax. — One pound of resin, eight ounces beeswax, 
two ounces of tallow ; melt together over a slow fire, and when melted add a 
little linseed oil ; stir it in well, and pour the whole into a pail of cold water ; 
when cool enough work it with the hands. If it is found too hard, melt and 
add more tallow or oil, and if too soft put in more resin. When Hnseed oil is 
not to be had conveniently, use to one pound of resin, two ounces of beeswax 
and six ounces of tallow. Grease the hands when working the wax to prevent 
its sticking, and pull it until of uniform character. 

Common Cxrafting Wax. — To four pounds resin, take two pounds 
beeswax, and one pound tallow ; melt together until the whole unites ; then 
pour the mixture into a bucket of water at blood heat. Oil the hands and 
work it until a pale yellow color, and make into fine sticks or lumps, and lay 
away. When used, place it in a small bucket of tepid water, when it will work 
easily, and never cracks. 

Grafting; Bandages. — Four parts of resin, three parts of beeswax, and 
three of lard, melted together, make a good wax. It takes much less wax, 
and is much handier to work with, and will make a better job to coat rags with 
wax. This can be done by tearing the rags into strips, from one and one-half 
to two inches wide, and dropping them into the mixture while cooking. It 
should be permitted to get cool enough before the rags are taken out, so that 
sufficient wax will stick to them to glaze nicely. 



MANAGEMENT OF TREES. 



Pruning Frnit Orcliard§. — Excessive pruning is as injurious to trees as 
neglect, and before the knife or saw is put among the limbs the top should be 
thoroughly examined to see if it would not be best to let it alone. If the 
branches are interwoven or so thick that the sun and air cannot have free 
access, there is work to be done. If two limbs cross in such a manner as to 
chafe each other, one of them should be taken off. When a large limb is to be 
removed, first cut the bark on the lower side with a sharp knife to prevent strip- 
ping down when the limb falls. Cut hmbs off as close to the base as possible 
so as not to leave a stub. ■, 



Il6 MANAGEMENT OF TREES. 

The outside branches seldom require much pruning ; the most of the work 
should be done in the center of the top. After an orchard is once properly 
trimmed it will require no more work upon it after that than can be done with 
a knife, if the job is attended to every spring. 

Orchardists disagree as to the proper time for pruning, and probably always 
will, but so far as my individual experience is concerned I have always found 
the. best results from pruning in the spring as soon as the trees become 
vigorous. 

Replacini^ Orclias'cl Trees. — When there are vacancies in old 
orchards to be filled with young trees, take a wagon to the spot where the tree has 
died and shovel out a load of dirt, removing all of the old roots, and then fill 
the place with good, fresh surface dirt from another field, and set out the young 
tree. This is the cheapest and quickest method of replacing. It takes many 
years for the roots of a dead apple tree to decay and the acid to leave the 
earth sufficient to warrant the growth of the second setting, and a young tree 
planted in the same soil where an old one has fallen, will not generally amount 
to anything. 

To Save Crirdled Trees. — It is said, upon good authority, that when a 
tree has been girdled during winter by mice or rabbits, it may be saved by cut- 
ting away the edges of the wound in the spring, till a fresh and healthy bark is 
seen. Then peel off strips from a limb of the tree, cutting them so as to fit the 
gap exactly, the ends of the strips pressing against the fresh edges of the bark. 
Confine by a bandage, and when circulation is active, the sap will pass through 
the bark thus grafted on, and the tree will grow as well as ever. 

How to Set Out Trees. — A nurseryman says that if people planting 
orchards would give strict orders to mark the north side of the trees with 
chalk before taken up, and when set out to have them put into the ground with 
the north side to the north, in their natural position, a larger proportion would 
live and thrive. Ignoring this law of nature, he says, is one cause of so many 
transplanted trees dying. If the north side is set to the south, the heat of 
the sun is too great for that side of the tree to bear, and therefore the bark is 
killed and decay follows. 

Healing Wounds on Trees. — Heat grafting wax, dip a strip of muslin 
in it, and place it perpendicularly over the wound while it is fresh ; then put 
three or more narrow bands around the tree. This is sufficient, and the healing 
process will go on rapidly. 

To Prevent Trees Splitting ©own. — The best and most economi- 
cal way to prevent forked trees from splitting, says the Journal of Horticul- 
ture, is to select two branches in a proper position and unite them by splice 
or tongue grafting. The large limbs should be secured together by a cord or 
other temporary- bond, until the grafts have united. If the work is well done, 
the union will be perfect and will grow stronger every year. It is obvious that 



MANAGEMENT OF TREES. II7 

the higher up this bond is placed the stronger it will be, as the leverage, of 
whatever force, such as the wind or their own weight, tending to separate the 
limbs will be less. Two or three such bonds might be formed, to provide for 
the failure of one. 

In large old trees or those whose limbs have already begun to separate, the 
best thing is an iron bolt ; and this should be fastened, not by rings around the 
limbs, which would soon girdle them, but should have a head on one end, and a 
nut to screw on to the other, the bolt being put through a hole bored in each 
limb. If the bolt is of sufficient size and the work well done, no fear need be 
entertained that the nut will give way. 

But in this and in many other things, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound 
of cure, and the best way of all is to so train the tree while young that there 
shall be no forks which will be in danger of splitting open. 

Paint for Tree Wounds. — I have found white lead and oil an excel- 
lent material to apply to the exposed wood surface where a large limb has been 
removed. The paint should be applied plentifully as soon as the cut is made. 
It prevents the loss of sap ; it prevents the wood drying up and checking, and 
healing takes place rapidly. 

Tree Labels. — When setting a young orchard, it is highly important 
to preserve the names of the trees, so that when they come into bearing one may 
be able to tell the fruit that each tree bears. The best and most durable label 
may be made of strips of zinc. Cut the pieces four to six inches long, half an 
inch wide at one end, and pointed at the other. Cut name of fruit with a pointed 
steel instrument in wide end, and bend pointed end once around a limb. As 
the tree to which it belongs expands by growth, the elastic strip of metal yields 
to the pressure. 

Staking^ Young Trees. — Unless young trees are staked when set out, 
they will become lopped over by the winds, and the orchard made unsightly. 
One, or even two stakes, will not answer the entire purpose. One stake only 
holds the tree in one direction, and two stakes will not prevent chafing. Three 
stakes should be used, one set out at the east, one at the northwest, and the 
third southwest. 

A very good way to stay the tree in place, is to make a belt of leather that 
will go loosely around the tree at a height to correspond with the length of the 
stakes. This belt should be about two inches wide and laced at the ends with 
leather string, so that it may be loosened if necessary. Scrap leather from har- 
ness or shoe shops will answer nicely for belts and lacing strings. 

On three sides of the belt, to correspond with the three stakes, cut two slits 
half an inch apart and three-quarters of an inch long, and to these attach strong 
cords or leather strings to fasten to the stakes. The high winds will not move 
a tree thus protected. 

Transplanting; Large Trees. — Forest *^rees for shade and ornamental 



Il8 SIMPLE USES FOR WIRE. 

purposes, that are very large, can be effectually transplanted by doing the work 
in cold weather. Dig about the tree to be removed at a time when the ground 
is wet and it has begun to freeze. Leave a large ball of earth about the roots, 
and this will soon become hardened by exposure to the frosty air. After 
digging well under the tree, with strong levers pry it out and roll it upon a sled 
or truck, and convey it to the place where it is to be set again. Take the un- 
frozen soil thrown from the hole dug to receive the tree, to pack around the 
roots after resetting. 

If the soil is not as good where the tree is to be set as that from which it 
was taken, a wagon load of good material should be provided. Earth stored in 
barn or cellar for the purpose of winter transplanting will pay the extra trouble. 

Staying wp Meset Tree§. — The tree after being set should be stayed 
by wires running from well up at the top to stakes in the ground, or by a ton 
or so of stone piled over the roots in a circle around the trunk. If the tree is 
tall the wires are more certain security against high winds. 



SIMPLE USES FOR WIRE. 



To Anneal Wire. — Every one should keep about the premises a coil of 
annealed or copper wire; it will come handy almost every day for mending 
breakages in implements and household commodities. A few cents' worth will 
supply a common family for a year, and often save many dollars. Wire may be 
annealed by simply heating until red or white, and allowing the wire to cool 
slowly. 

Cheap Wire Sronzing. — Clean the wire perfectly, and then immerse 
it in a solution of sulphate of copper until covered with a coating of metallic 
copper. Then wash and immerse the wire in the following solution : Verdi- 
gris two ounces ; sal-ammoniac one ounce ; vinegar one pint ; diluted with water 
until it tastes only slightly metallic, and then boil for a few minutes and filter. 
The wires are steeped in this Hquor, at the boiling point, until the desired 
effect is produced ; but do not keep them in too long. When taken out, wash 
carefully m hot water, and dry. 

To Color l¥ire ^BlaeR or Blue. — To color bright wire black or blue 
and perfectly smooth, the same as hair-pins, take of asphaltum, three ounces ; 
boiled oil four quarts ; burnt umber eight ounces ; mix by heat, and thin with 
turpentine (oil) before the mixture becomes cool. Dip the wire in this (not too 
thick) and harden in a japanner's oven at as high a heat as it will bear without 
blistering. 

Strength of Wire. — The following gives the relative strength of various 
metallic wires : A rod one-fourth inch in diameter, of the best steel, will sustain. 



SIMPLE USES FOR WIRE. 



119 



before breaking, 9,000 pounds ; soft steel, 7,000 pounds ; iron wire, 6,000 pounds ; 
inferior iron, 2,000 pounds; cast-iron, 1,000 to 2,000 pounds; copper wire, 
3,000 pounds ; lead, 50 pounds ; milled lead, 200 pounds ; silver, 2,000 pounds ; 
gold, 2,500 pounds; tin, 300 pounds; cast-zinc, 160 pounds. Of course, the 
above are only estimates as to pounds sustained, based upon tests, but tests 
will vary greatly as the quality of the metals varies ; but relative strength is fairly 
illustrated. 

To Remedy Kinked Wire. — To take the kinks out of soft w^ire, roll 
the rod between two smooth, hard boards. If the wire is large and hard, heavy 
pressure will be required between planks or iron plates. Part of the work may 
be done with the hammer before rolling. 

To Wrap with Wire. — It is a difficult matter, by use of the hands 
alone, to bind a broken article sufficiently tight to make it answer the purpose 
intended. A good device has for some time been in use, which works effect- 
ually, and is so simple that any one can produce it, and with the use of but 
very few tools. 




CHEAP AND HANDY WIRE BlhTDBIt. 



The illustration will show how it is made. It need not be more than six 
inches long, one inch thick, and two inches wide at the top. Pieces are screwed 
on to the sides to support the reel, and a couple of little staples on the side to 
hold the wire in place. 

Reel the wire on to the spool at the top, bring the end down through the 
staples and attach to the article to be bound ; then by the crank hold the wire 
taut, and move the whole thing around the article to be bound. 

Another way to bind with, wire, where an article is movable, is to have the 
second party hold the coil of wire with an improvised leverage, and put on the 
wrap by turning the stick to be bound, held at a strain, or, better still, by wind- 
ing the wire upon a spool and then reeling it off with leverage. 



I20 MANAGEMENT OF BARRELS. 



MANAGEMENT OF BARRELS. 



Paintings Barrels. — Barrels to be used for storing liquids should be 
painted. Make the application when the wood is dry. White lead, with the 
addition of a little lampblack, to give it a blue cast, is a very good coating, 

Hooping Barrels. — It is not necessary to take a barrel to a cooper to 
have hoops put on. Get some inch, or inch and a quarter hoop iron, a small 
steel punch — this may be made from a used up saw file — and a few small, 
short rivets. Punch a hole through the iron half an inch from one end, then 
bend the band around the barrel at a higher point than it is to be driven to, and 
mark through the rivet hole where the punch is to be used again. Punch the 
second hole, then cut off the iron half an inch from the puncture, and rivet the 
ends together. Hold the head of the rivet firmly upon some smooth, solid iron, 
like the head of an ax, and in pounding down the rivet work gently at first, 
until it is well spread out on every side, then flatten firmly. If the rivet fits the 
hole closely, it need not project more than an eighth of an inch before it is 
clinched down. 

Cleansing^ Barrels. — To purify wooden vessels, use a solution of soda. 
An ordinary barrel should be half filled with water, and a solution of about two 
pounds of soda in as much water as will dissolve it ; then head up the barrels 
and thoroughly mix the liquids by shaking the barrel, which should then be 
filled to the bung with water, and allowed to remain for twelve to fourteen 
days ; then, after withdrawing the discolored liquid, it should be well rinsed 
and filled with pure water and allowed to remain several days, when it will be 
fit for use. Other wooden vessels may be treated with a solution of soda. 

Another Mettiod. — Scour the inside well out with water and sand, and 
afterward apply a quantity of charcoal dust. Another and better method is to 
rinse them with a pretty strong solution of oil of vitriol and water, which will 
entirely deprive them of their foulness. 

Wine or Cider Barrels.— To prepare new oak barrels for wine or 
cider, use one pound of alum and four or five pounds of salt, to four bucket- 
fuls of water ; heat boiling hot, and put one bucket at a time in the barrel ; 
rinse thoroughly ; let it stand an hour, turn it out, and repeat the operation with 
another bucketful. Finally rinse with cold water and fumigate with sulphur, 
and it will be all right. 

For Mwsty Barrels. — To relieve barrels from mustiness, burn a little 
sulphur in the empty cask bungs and let the barrels stand for a day or so. 

Another Method. — Put in a liberal quantity of live coals and immediately 
fill up the cask with boiling water. After this, roll the cask once or twice a day 
for a week ; then pour out the charcoal and water, wash out the cask with clean 
cold water and expose it to the external air for some days. 



BOXES AND CRATES. I2r 

Charring^ Barrels. — In England, among some of the coopers, barrels 
are sweetened by what is termed " burning out " process. They take out the 
head, place the cask over a brisk fire, and char the inside completely. The 
head is then put in again, and the cask, before used, is filled two or three times 
with hot liquor, bunged down and well shaken before it is used again. 

Shape of a Pork Barrel. — A rural gentleman writes me thus : " For- 
merly, I salted my pork in a bulging barrel (as I think most farmers now do), 
and found that when the meat got below the bulge of the barrel, it would float 
in the brine, and become what we call rusty, which made it very objectionable, 
I had a cask made straight staved, big at the bottom and small at the top, and 
since then I have not been troubled with rusty pork. It was made twenty-two 
years ago, and, save wanting a little hooping, is good yet. If pork is cut in 
strips, and packed edgewise and tight as packers do in such a cask, it will never 
float until the last ring is broken, and sometimes not till the last pieces are 
being used. 



BOXES AND CRATES. 



A Bulb Box. — An amateur can, without difficulty, make a box for bulbs 

that will be both inexpensive and ornamental. In the first place, procure or 
make a box of half inch stuff, twenty inches long, ten inches wide and seven 
inches deep. This size may be varied to suit the convenience, but the propor- 
tions are about right for symmetrical appearance. The box should be strong, 
that is, well nailed with one inch brads. 

Bulb Box Ornamentation. — Secure some straight twigs and limbs 
with bark on, about as large as the little finger. The rods may be of willow if 
other material cannot be obtained. Split the rods in half by use of knife or fine 
saw, and tack them upon the box. First go around the edges, top and bottom, 
then up and down the corners, and then divide off into panels by tacking strips 
up and down. Five panels may be made of four inches each. 

Fill each panel with strips close together, lessening in size until a two inch 
space only is left of the board surface. 

Next take some thin wood (shingles will do) and cut out panels to fit the spaces, 
making them as smooth as possible with plane and sandpaper ; fasten them in 
with brads ; then after you are done nailing, have the box lined with zinc ; when 
this is done, give the little panels four coats of white paint, and when the paint 
is dry take some pressed ferns and gay leaves, group them nicely and glue to 
the center of the panels ; give all a coat of white varnish, and you will have a 
nice box. 



122 GARDEN FIXTURES. 

Strawberry Boxes. — Home made boxes may be provided for marketing 
berries at little expense. For the side of the boxes have the material sawed 
three and one-eighth inches wide and one-fourth of an inch thick ; for the ends 
three inches wide and one-fourth of an inch thick, and for the bottom four and 
three-fourths inches wide and one-eighth of an inch thick, and cut into lengths 
of five inches. The end pieces being but three inches wide and the sides three and 
■one-eighth admits the bottoms to be nailed on or below the end pieces, but level 
with the sides, which project one-eighth of an inch below the end pieces, but 
bringing all on a level when the box is nailed together, and the boxes are five 
and one-half by five inches on the outside, and four and one-fourth inside or in 
the clear, measuring sixty-seven and a half cubic inches, and holding an honest 
dry measure quart which consists of d^.d cubic inches. The wood of the white 
walnut or butternut is well adapted to making both crates and boxes, though 
hardly equal to basswood or willow. ■ 

Strawberry Crates. — Crates should be made holding thirty-six boxes 
in two tiers of eighteen boxes each, and others holding fifty-four boxes in three 
tiers of eighteen boxes each, having partitions in them for the boxes to rest 
upon. 

Old Cigar Boxes. — Empty cigar boxes may be put to many uses. They 
are handy for storing scouring material in the pantry ; for keeping nails, tacks, 
rivets, buttons, etc.; for storing the pipe-smoker's material ; for stonng garden 
seeds, making marten boxes, mouse traps, and when taken apart, the sides 
being of cedar, make good material for the bracket saw, and for panels upon 
which to paint small pictures. 



GARDEN FIXTURES. 



Oarden Water Cask. — The profit of a garden depends upon the care 
bestowed upon it. Both vegetables and ornamental plants are frequently neg- 
lected, because it is a great deal of trouble to supply water, and more, per- 
haps, to apply it. A very nice and cheap device for watering can be con- 
structed as follows : 

Take a water-tight barrel and put it on a platform six feet or more high, and 
at the bottom of this affix a common faucet. Now procure rubber hose long 
enough for the purpose, and at one end of the hose have a fine spray nozzle 
that can be taken off or put on. At the other end have a burr with a thread 
cut to fit one that must be cut on the faucet. Now you are ready. Fill your 
vessel with water in the morning, and let it stand exposed to the sun all day. 
In the evening fasten on your hose, turn on the faucet, and water the plants. 



GARDEN FIXTURES. I23 

Evening is the proper time to do the watering. Into this barrel you may put 
ammonia, iron, or any chemical that you desire, and when it is mixed with the 
water it may be applied without further trouble. Iron scraps may be left in the 
vessel all the time. The cost will be but a trifle, and it will repay in one 
season many times over. 

CJieap Crarden KaRe. — A very light and useful garden rake may be 
made with but few cents' expense by any one, in the following m.anner : Take 
a stick of tough timber for the head, two feet long and about an inch and 
a quarter square. With a three-quarter auger bore a hole through the center 
for the handle ; then with a proper sized bit bore holes once in two inches 
through the head and drive through twelve penny nails flatwise with the grain 
of wood, for the teeth. 

The bit holes should be just large enough to make the nails go tight, but not 
so as to split the stick. By putting the rake head in a vise when driving in the 
teeth, the work may be done better. 

If it should need bracing, put a three-quarter screw in each end of the head 
at the top, and drive only half way down, then one in top of handle twelve inches 
irom head, and run a wire around from screw to screw, drawing tight, and fas- 




HOME-MADE GARDEN RAKE. 



ten by winding. This will not add to the heft of the rake, comparatively speak- 
ing, and is much better in appearance than wooden braces nailed on. Such a 
rake will serve very well the place of a boughten one. 

The Oarden Line. — When laying out a garden, it is just as easy to 
have it symmetrical as otherwise, and no little gratification is afforded by the 
symmetry. To make the beds straight and of eqyal width, a liner must be 
used. One that will answer a very good purpose is made by the use of two 
sticks, a foot or so long, sharpened at one end, and the attachment of a line. 
The string at either end is to be tied to the two sticks, and then the line 
wound upon one of them near the top. To line a bed, stick the empty stake, 
and with the second in hand unwind until right point is reached, and stick 
that. 

Another way is to have the line upon a spool after the manner of the car- 
penter's chalk line. Tie one end to a stake, after running out the line, stick a 
jsecond stake with a split in the top, into which draw the taut line. 

Cheap Crarden Reel. — Make a frame, ten by twelve inches square from 



24 



TO MAKE A BLACKBOARD. 



two narrow and thin pieces of boards and round sticks. In the centers of the 
two pieces of boards bore holes with a three-quarter bit, and into these put a 
stick twenty inches or two feet long, pointed at 
one end. Put a pin through above and below 
the frame to keep the stick in place. The frame 
is to turn around upon this center piece, and 
should wnrk easily. The illustration will give a 
good idea of its construction. Twine wound upon 
this may be reeled off at pleasure, and held at 
any point by use of a spring clothes-pin. 

A Oarden Marker. — A marker for beds may 
be made very easily, and one that will expedite 
work, as several lines, or seed furrows may be 
made at one stroke. Take a piece of wood two- 
feet long and two inches square, and into the 
center put an old hoe handle, after the manner of a hand rake ; bore a 
series of holes from the upper back to the lower front of the head ; to these fit 
pins six inches long with blunt, rounded or diamond shaped ends. The teeth 
should be set slanting, so that as the instrument is drawn, the teeth follow with 
an end or side pressure. By having numerous holes in the head, the teeth may 
be set, or changed, as desired, for different plantings. 




CHEAP GARDEN REEL, 



TO MAKE A BLACKBOARD. 



Lumber and Size. — For the board secure thoroughly seasoned white- 
wood lumber, dress to an exact thickness, match and put together with glue. 
To key it up firmly, use the wooden clamp, as illustrated on page 20. When 
dry place in position. It of course can be made of any desired size. If not 
fitted between casings, a border of half or three-quarter stuff should be put 
around the board, projecting at the front half an inch or more. 

If to be suspended, hang by a couple of leather straps screwed to the back. 
Use no nails or screws on the surface of the board. Sand paper the surface 
smooth before applying the blacking. 

How to Paint the Board. — No oil should be used in the composition 
for covering the board. Wiekerman's School Economy gives the following 
formula for making a paint, which is highly recommended : 

" To make one gallon of paint, take ten ounces pulverized pumice stone, six: 
ounces pulverized rotten stone, three-fourths of a pound of lampblack, and mix: 
with alcohol enough to make a thick paste. Grind the mixture thoroughly, and 



TO MAKE A BLACKBOARD. I25 

tlien dissolve fourteen ounces of shellac in the remainder of the gallon of alco- 
hol. Stir the whole together, and the paint is ready for use." 

Another Formula. — Take one gallon of pure alcohol and put one and a 
half pounds unbleached gum shellac in it and let it stand twenty-four hours, or 
until it is thoroughly cut ; then take two gallons of alcohol and put in one 
pound of lampblack and one pound of flour of emery. Mix them thoroughly. 

Now take the alcohol and shellac and mix it with the alcohol, lamp- 
black and emery ; mix them thoroughly and shake or stir often while applying. 
The paint should be of the consistency of thin varnish ; if too thin thicken with 
lampblack, if too thick thin with alcohol, and apply with any fine paint brush, 
the larger the better ; a flat brush is the best. In making smaller quantities, 
use same proportions. 

Paint for Old Boards. — Dissolve gum shellac in alcohol, and mix it 
with lampblack and flour of emery. No more lampblack or flour of emery 
should be used than is necessary to give the required black and abrading sur- 
face ; and sufficient gum to hold the materials together and confine the compo- 
sition to the board. The thinner the mixture the better. The lampblack 
should first be ground with a small quantity of alcohol to free it from lumps. 
Apply with a common painter's brush, and when dry, smooth with pumice stone. 

An £eononiieal Paint. — For fifty square feet of board, take four ounces 
of common glue, three ounces of flour of emery, and just lampblack enough to 
give an inky color to the preparation ; dissolve the glue in one-third of a quart 
of warm water, put in the lampblack and emery, and stir until there are no lumps, 
then .'ipply to the board with a woolen rag smoothly rolled. Put on two or 
three coats evenly, and you have a nice surface at a cost of about thirty cents 
for material. 

For Blackening Wall§. — If a plastered wall is to be blackened for a 
"board," sand-paper the whitewash off so that the shellac may adhere to the 
wall. If there are any holes in the plastering, fill them with plaster Paris, and 
work down the whole surface smoothly. When making a wall on purpose for 
a blackboard, a wall of sheeting should be placed half an inch back of the lath, 
so that the plaster will form a solid bed. For coating the plastered wall use 
the second formula given, and apply a sufficient number of coats to make a 
good, black surface. 

To Make Black Plaster. — Wickerman says that a cheap, service- 
able plaster may be made by using one bushel each of white coating or finishing- 
coat material, fine, sharp sand, ground plaster, with four gallons of alcohol, and 
four pounds of lampblack. Whisky will answer the place of the alcohol. 

This quantity, it is claimed, will make a mixture sufficient to cover 
twenty square yards. A little flour of emery will prevent the mixture from 
"setting" immediately, thus giving time to put it on the wall with necessary 
care ; if emery be not used, only a small quantity of the mixture can be put 



126 FILTERS AND FILTERING. 

on at a time ; and this is, perhaps, the better way. Tbe wall which is intended 
to be covered with the black surface, should be plastered like the rest of the. 
room, with the exception that the black mixture takes the place of the white 
coating, and is put on in the same manner ; after the black surface is on the 
wall, it must be carefully dampened and rubbed, in order to fill up the pores 
and make the surface hard and smooth. If the old surface be well moistened, 
a new surface, composed of the same mixture, may be applied. It must be re- 
membered that the black surface requires much more working with the smooth- 
ing trowel than the white finish. 



FILTERS AND FILTERING. 



A Oood HVater Filter. — Take an oak cask or barrel that is sound,. 

sweet and clean ; bore an inch hole near the bottom of one side, in which insert 
the end of a piece of three-quarter inch lead pipe (from inside), ten or twelve 
inches long, the other end projecting inward and bent upward toward the 
middle of the cask. In the lower end place a common beer faucet or stop cock, 
from which to draw water as desired. 

Have ready say one bushel of good hard wood charcoal, and the same quantity 
of clean, fine gravel — not limestone — from the fineness of coarse sand, up to the 
size of peas, and if not clean, wash it till no dirt will appear in the water. 

Break the charcoal to the size of walnuts and smaller, then mix it evenly with 
the gravel. Cover the bottom of the cask three or four inches thick with this 
mixture, pounding it down firmly. Next take a clean tin vessel, the shape of a 
garden flower-pot, of large size (say two gallons), and place it bottom upward 
in the center of the barrel, on top of the layer of gravel and coal, and over the 
end of the lead pipe. Then take a piece of small sized one-quarter or three- 
eighth inch lead or wood pipe, and place one end firmly into a hole in the bottom 
of the vessel, and bring the other end through a hole bored near the top of the 
barrel, for the purpose of admitting air into the space under the pail. Now fill 
in the space around and above the tin vessel with the mixture of coal and 
gravel, pounding it firmly down as you proceed, till the cask is about three- 
fourths full ; then place some thin flat stones (not limestones) on top, and the 
filter is complete. 

The water being poured in on top, passes through the gravel and charcoal, 
by which it is purified, and enters the chamber from which it is drawn by the 
faucet, as required, the small pipe admitting air into the chamber to supply the 
place of the water while it is being drawn out. 

This filter is only designed for rain or soft water, and will serve for constant. 



FILTERS AND FILTERING. 1 27 

use a year or more without renewal ; but if used for hard water, the charcoal 
soon loses its virtue. When first put up, the water drawn from the filter will 
have an alkaline taste, but that disappears after the filter has been in operation 
a day or two. 

Poor Maii'§ Filter. — Take a common garden flower-pot, of some nine 
inches diameter and ten inches depth. The drainage hole is stopped (not too 
tightly) with a piece of clean sponge. A layer of about two inches of charcoal 
is first placed in the pot ; then a second layer of clean sand, upon which a layer 
of three inches of clean, coarse gravel is placed. The pot can be set over an 
earthen jar, into which an abundance of pure drinking water will filter for all 
drinking purposes. 

Another Method. — Place on a slat bottom in a clean pail, not 
painted inside, and having a hole in the bottom, a piece of flannel, and on this 
some coarsely powdered charcoal, then coarse river sand, and cover the whole 
vvith sandstone broken into small pieces. The pail should rest upon a little 
platform, projecting enough to clear the hole for water escape from the plat- 
form, and keep a one or two gallon jar beneath it. In summer, by keeping a 
piece of ice in the crock or jar, a refreshing drink is ever ready. I have used 
this with entire satisfaction. 

Paper Filter. — A very cheap and quickly constructed filter for liquid, 
remedies, etc., especially those cut in alcoholic fluids, may be made by taking 
a square piece of blotting paper and folding it both ways, corner to corner 
through the center. By thus folding it is made cupping when opened, and will 
sink into the mouth of a small vessel sufficiently to contain an ounce or so of 
the substance to be filtered. It is better, however, to use it in a funnel. 

Regular filter paper can be purchased at almost any drug store, very cheap. 
This comes usually in round sheets, but for use it should be cross-folded the 
same as the square. If these paper filters were used more, there would not be 
so many ill effects from poisonous sediments in medicines. 

To Filter l¥iiie, — In some cases where the wine is only a little thick 
from mechanically suspended substance, it can be made quite clear by filtering 
through a wad of white cotton put in the funnel ; and when this answers, it is 
much quicker than the paper filter. 

Filter for Oil and Jelly. — For jelly and oil, wool alone is the proper- 
medium for filtering. The felted wool jelly bag is pretty well known as the 
best means of clearing calves' foot jelly, and it also answers for olive and other 
oil. These bags are, however, too expensive to be generally used ; hence they 
are rarely seen in kitchens. 

A good substitute for the wool bag is a colander, on the inside of which a 
new flannel Hning should be fitted, made of double stuff. A wad of white 
knitting wool, thoroughly cleansed, put in the neck of a funnel, will do to filter- 
any small portion of such fluids. 



126 

J MECHANICAL USES OF OILS. 



MECHANICAL USES OF OILS. 



Castor Oil for Belts. — No vegetable oil will equal this for use upon 
leather, and no animal oil is superior in many cases. Leather belts for trans- 
mitting motion in machinery, will usually last from three to five years, accord- 
ing to the wear and tear they are exposed to ; when greased with castor oil, 
they will last much longer, as they always remain flexible and do not crack. 

Beside this advantage, castor oil will prevent slipping, so that a belt three 
inches wide, impregnated with it, it is said, will be equal to a belt four and a 
half inches wide without castor oil. It is necessary, however, to wait twenty- 
four hours, until the oil has disappeared from the surface and penetrated the 
leather, otherwise the freshly greased surface will cause slipping. 

Rats and other vermin detest anything impregnated with castor oil, and 
will not touch it — another advantage, and one of considerable importance, es- 
pecially when belting is to be stored for a time. 

To Refine Neatsfoot Oil. — Put, say a quart of the oil with half a 
pound of bright lead shavings, and half a pound of quicklime pounded, into a 
glass bottle ; let it stand in the sun and light for two or three weeks ; then put 
the oil and lime into a saucepan, with half a pound of washing soda ; boil 
gently fifteen minutes ; then set in the coldest place possible till the next day, 
when it will be found congealed ; then put into a filter of white blotting paper, 
place a clean glass bottle under the filter, and you will get some of the finest 
oil, suitable for the most delicate machinery. 

Any one requiring a little nice oil, would do well to try this in preference to 
buying if ready prepared. It must be kept perfectly cold while filtering, or the 
soda will go through into the oil. 

Raw vs. Roiled Oil. — Many have an opinion that linseed oil is not fit 
for use unless boiled, and no greater mistake could occur. Boiled oil is less 
penetrating than raw, therefore is not as durable when exposed to the in- 
fluences of sun, wind and storms. 

Boiled linseed oil is very good for inside work, as it does not have to with- 
stand the trying influences of the weather. It dries quicker than raw oil, 
and hence its popularity ; but I would advise, after an experience of many 
years, not to use boiled oil either upon the outer surface of buildings, fences or 
vehicles. The drying of the paint mixed with prepared oil is not owing to pene- 
tration, but to atmospheric absorption, and it is left less adhesive than raw oil 
paint and more liable to crack. 

Cheap Machine Oil. — Take one quart of sperm oil, one gill of refined 
coal oil, and mix thoroughly by shaking. This mixture answers a very good 
purpose for machinery, as it does not gum up. Another method is to put some 
zinc and lead shavings, equal parts, into good olive oil, and place the same 



THE WHEELBARROW. I29 

in a cool place until the oil becomes colorless. No definite amount of the met- 
als is required. 

How to Test Olive Oil. — When it is desired only to ascertain whether 
the oil is pure or not, without precise reference to the nature of the oils used in 
adulteration, take equal quantities of olive oil known to be pure and the oil to 
be tested ; place the samples in separate test tubes into which a good thermom- 
eter may also be inserted, and heat each separately to a high temperature. 
The pure oil will become somewhat paled during the heating, while the adulter- 
ant oils will give off an offensive odor. 

Oil for Whetstones. — Good sweet or olive oil is commonly used upon 
whetstones. In testing a new stone, try water first ; if it glazes, oil is required, 
and almost all stones, unless oiled, become glazed or burnished on the sur- 
face, so that they no longer abrade the metal. Most stones, after being oiled, 
give a finer edge than they do in a dry or merely wet state. The pores of the 
stone become in a measure filled up, and while the action is rendered continu- 
ous, its character is altered. A dry stone is very apt to give a wire edge to a 
tool, and although this sometimes happens when oil is used, yet it does not 
occur nearly so often. Some stones, however, work better with water than 
with oil. Therefore the test should be made before the oil is used. If it cuts 
without glazing, do not apply oil at all. 



THE WHEELBARROW. 



Adjustable Side Wheelbarrow. — No wheelbarrow for general use 
about the premises is so handy as the common one with adjustable sides, made 
as represented in the accompanying small engraving. One who is not a pro- 
fessional mechanic, had better buy than attempt to make one of these. The 
svheel is a difficult thing to construct. 




ADJUSTABLE SIDE WHEELBARROW. 



Plank WTieelbarrow. — A hand vehicle may be made of planks that 
will answer a very good purpose, but it is not a thing of beauty. In an English 
work, by S. T. Avehng, I find a very simple plank wheelbarrow, the substance 
of which is subjoined : 



126 

130 



THE WHEELBARROW. 



Wheelbarrow Box. — Procure a board twelve inches wide and fully 
an inch thick, and with a piece of chalk mark out the parts according to the 
diagram, Figs, i, 2, 3, in the following illustration : 

First cut off the two sides of the barrow, which should measure from the 
extreme tip about fifty inches, and twelve inches wide. Fig. i. Then cut off the 
tail-board, which should also be twelve inches deep, eighteen inches wide at the 
bottom, and at top twenty inches. For the head or front-board a piect of wood 
of the same thickness, eleven inches deep ; the slope of this will take up an 
inch, and the round top an inch, which takes up the two inches, and brings 
the front-board to its proper depth. 

This board must be cut no wider than the tail-board, and the taper to barrow 
given by two inch tenons on each side. Next comes the bottom ; this should 
be of three-fourth inch stuff, eighteen inches wide and two feet long. 




HOME-MADE PLANK WHEELBAKK 



To Make tiie Wheel. — For the wheel, a piece of one and one-half inch 
elm plank is the best. Upon this, with a pair of compasses, strike out a circle 
nineteen inches in diameter, and in the center, a one and one-half inch circle for 
the hole to receive the axle ; cut this square with the chisel to fit the axle. For 
the stock or axle of the wheel, get a piece of one and one-half inch square oak or 
ash, and for the legs a piece of ash about one and one-half inch wide and one 
inch thick, forty inches long ; bevel the latter off at each end, from the flat side 
to about four inches down, cut it into two twenty-inch pieces, and these form 
the legs. 

To Frame a Wheelbarrow. — Take the sides, and gauge from the 
top edge one and one-fourth inches and two and one-half inches down, two 
parallel lines, and two more seven inches and eight and one-fourth inches down. 
These form the upper and lower mortise, one and a fourth inches deep, and they 
should be the width of the head-board, viz. : three-quarters or an inch wide. 
These should be cut out with a mortise chisel. 



THE WHEELBARROW. I3I 

The head-board should be tenoned to suit the mortice holes of the side-board, 
as shown in Fig. 2. After this, fit the head-board to each side-piece, and mark 
or scribe the pin-holes. Then separate them again, and bore these pin-holes 
with a gimlet a quarter of an inch in diameter. 

The wheel must next be finished, as it must be put in the barrow when the 
frame is fitted. Square and taper, from nearly the center to the ends, the one 
and one-half inch piece of oak or ash before mentioned ; the ends should be 
rounded and be about an inch and a quarter in diameter. 

To Fit the Wheel. — From the blacksmith's procure two iron fer- 
rules, to fit on to the ends of the stock or axle (to prevent the wood splitting), 
and two gudgeons of three-eighth inch round iron, three inches long, and sharp 
square-pointed to one end, to drive into the end of the stock. 

Bore holes to receive them with a gimlet of the right size, and drive them in 
tight, after putting on the ferrules. 

The ferrules are generally made slightly tapered or conical, and exactly the size 
of the end of the stock upon which they are placed. By putting the ferrules into 
the fire and making them hot, they will be considerably expanded by the heat, 
and will easily fit on the wood, which they could not do when cold. 

After driving them fairly on, plunge them into cold water, and the rapid con- 
traction of the iron caused by the change of temperature, will make them fit 
quite tight. The wheel is now complete. 




THE SCANTLING WHEELBARROW. 

In the side-pieces bore with an auger a three-eighth inch hole, to receive the 
gudgeons of the wheel. Place the wheel between the two sides, refit the front 
and back piece, and drive in the four pins through the tenons of the front, and 
secure the back-piece with four two inch cut clasp nails. Now fit the bottom 
of the barrow inside the frame, and nail it with one and one-half inch cut 
clasps. 

Finishings Up. — The legs should be screwed on with two strong screws in 
each leg. To make it easier of construction, the side-board need not be framed 
to the head-board, but screwed up firmly to a flat surface. Round the handle 
end of the side-boards, so that the hand may grasp them easily. 

A ISeantling: WheelbarroAV. — Another English publication gives the 
following cheap style of a wheelbarrow, which is almost entirely made of scant- 



132 MANAGEMENT OF CARRIAGES. 

ling. It has no particular advantages, and is not very attractive in appearance. 
Its cheapness is its prominent feature. 

Dumping Wlieeltoarro\i^. — The plank construction before given has 
no advantage over the common dumping wheelbarrow, made strong for hard 




THE DUMPING WHEELBARROW. 

usage. This may also be made with a plank wheel, or the wheel purchased 
and the rest made at home. If one prefers putting on the end pieces sup- 
ported by beveling planks, the bottom may be put in by bending an elm board 
and staying it with irons. Dimensions to suit the fancy. 



MANAGEMENT OF CARRIAGES. 



Hamage from Mud. — The owner of a nice carriage has, or should have 
at least, a pride in keeping it looking well, and it is therefore essential for him 
to know what kind of usage is most hurtful, and how to best guard against 
damaging influences. 

Mud is the greatest enemy to varnish with which the carriage comes in con- 
tact, if the substance is allowed to dry on, as it appears to sap out or deaden the 
luster, and at the same time destroy in part the body life of the coating. To 
prevent bad effects from mud, the vehicle should be washed as soon as it comes 
from the miry street. 

Ho^w to Wash a Carriage. — In washing, particular caution should 
be exercised against using a broom, brush, cloth, or even the hand to rub off 
the mud, for the grit will scratch the surface of the varnish and mar the luster. 
Water should be dashed on if hose are not at hand. Use water plentifully be- 
fore applying cloth or sponge. Where the mud has been allowed to dry on. wet 
it thoroughly ; let it remain until soaked up soft, then dash on water until the 
dirt disappears. Apply the sponge carefully at first, well saturated with water. 



MANAGEMENT OF CARRIAGES. 133 

If it can be avoided, mud should not be allowed to dry on. In winter, do 
not use hot water. It will destroy the varnish luster. 

Where to Keep a Csirria^e. — The durability of a carriage depends 
very materially upon the place in which it is kept. A damp house is injurious 
to both leather and varnish, and men very often, who keep their vehicles in such 
a place, make complaints against the carriage makers for not using better ma- 
terials for coating and coverings. 

The house should be dry and clean and separate from the horse stable, for 
no varnish will stand the action of ammonia arising from horse-stalls. The 
alkah coming in contact with the oily portions of the varnish dissolves the sur- 
face, or rather makes it brittle, so that when it is used in mud, or washed, it 
crumbles away. No varnish was ever made that will stand the ammonia aris- 
ing in a stable where horses are kept. 

IjOO§e Bolts. — Loose bolts allow the wearing away of the parts they are 
designed to hold together firmly, and it is a matter of economy and of safety be- 
sides, to always keep a wrench in the vehicle and to tighten up a burr as soon 
as it becomes at all loosened. A good rule to adopt is to go over the carriage 
once in a while and see that all the nuts are drawn up in place ; where a bolt 
is defective, take it out and put in its place one that is perfect. 

Carriage Injured by §un. — A carriage is injured more by standing 
still in the hot sunshine than by use. When in motion a strong and cooling 
current of atmosphere circulates around it, and the rays of the sun do not pour 
constantly upon one portion of the wheel. 

Top carriages should never stand with the top down, and aprons of every 
kind should be frequently unfolded, or they will soon spoil. 

Care of Carriage Tops. — In the management of the cloth or leather 
part, z. e., the top, there is the same necessity of keeping the part clean that 
there is in keeping mud from drying upon varnish, for mud will injure the luster 
of oilcloth and besides rot the material. To renew the top, wash it clean and 
rub with a cloth until perfectly dry, and then go over with second cloth, using 
a little sweet oil ; this will revive the brightness of the material, which absorbs 
the oil sufficiently to prevent the trouble that would follow oiling varnished work. 

Carriage Top Dressing. — The following preparation has been highly 
recommended for carriage tops, but I have never tried it : Take of ivory and 
lampblack each one pound, indigo one ounce, gum arable four ounces, brown 
sugar six ounces, glue half an ounce ; dissolve in two pints of hot water, and 
mix the whole well together. If you wish it thinner, add half an ounce of spirits 
of wine. 

Cleaning Crlasses of Carriages. — The glasses of the carriage may be 
cleaned in the ordinary way of washing and rubbing with Spanish whiting, 
using common print paper for rubbing. It is better to take the lights out where 
it can conveniently be done. 



134 MANAGEMENT OF CARRIAGES. 

We have seen recommended the use of strong potash solution on paper for 
rubbing away spots, but have never tried that material. The only objection to 
the potash is that it is likely to injure the cloth on the frame if it comes in con- 
tact with it. 

A paste for the same purpose is made of tripoli dissolved in brandy ; apply 
this with a rag, being careful to cover the glass ; after it is thoroughly dry rub 
it off with chamois or cloth. If the frames are covered with black cloth, add a 
little ivory black to the paste and it will not spot the cloth. 

Coal Oil for Carriag^es. — Oiling the parts where friction is caused by 
iron coming to iron is another matter worthy of attention, for a vehicle can be 
very much injured by an injudicious use of lubricating material, where the 
wheels are made upon wooden hubs. On the fifth wheel, or circle, and other 
places of friction, outside the hubs, coal oil is good, and coming largely into use. 
It has an advantage in not drying or gumming up. These parts should not be 
neglected. Dry irons rubbing together wear away rapidly. 

Oil for Carriage UTieels. — On the spindles of the axle-tree nothing is 
better than castor oil, and but little of this should be used, as the spindles fit so 
perfectly into the boxes that but little space is left for retaining the lubricator, 
and consequently the excess must work out. 

After removing the wheel, wipe off the spindle with a cloth dampened in coal 
oil or spirits of turpentine, then apply the castor oil by running a little line of 
the material from the bottle down the center of the spindle. 

Put on the wheel with an upward pressure so as to leave all the space there 
is between the box and spindle for the oil, and prevent forcing it out. Never 
use lard upon any wheel with wood hub, as it will penetrate and follow the 
pores of the timber, and have a tendency to loosen the spokes. 

Rei^ettiiig' Carriage Tire. — It will not pay to reset thin wheel tires. 
The chief strength of the wheel lies in the rim. When the tire requires reset- 
ting, take the vehicle to a regular carriage shop and leave a particular caution 
that the wheels must not be cramped. Not one common blacksmith m ten who 
does not follow carriage ironing, can set the tires on four wheels and keep them 
uniform. There are certain principles and rules to be observed in tire setting 
that if not fully understood and observed will result in absolute damage. 

Mats for Carriages. — It is not a good plan to have oilcloth tacked over 
the bottom of a carriage, for the reason that when the vehicle is wet, moisture 
will remain beneath the cloth and rot the bottom of the carriage. Some sort of 
mat is much more preferable, so far as appearance goes, and more profitable, 
because it can be taken out and the bottom boards allowed to dry after getting 
wet. The bottom should also be thoroughly painted as a protection. 

Painting Carriages. — For how to paint a carriage, see Painting 
Wagons. The same rules as to application of material will apply here. One 
thing, however, should be strictly borne in mind, never attempt to paint a car- 



MANAGEMENT OF CARRIAGES. I35 

riage if crowded for time. Where two or more coats are applied, each should 
have plenty of time to dry before a succeeding coat of paint or dressing of var- 
nish is put on. If the under coat is not well hardened, the process of evapora- 
tion will burst the outer coat, and the result will be, cracked paint. It is also 
important to use good material. Where gum shellac forms a part, it is liable 
to crack, for the reason that that substance swells in dissolving, and contracts 
in drying. 

Rattling^ Carriages. — Do not allow your carriages to rattle like a thresh- 
ing machine, but as fast as nuts or bolts get loose, fix them. Washers of sole- 
leather on the spindles of the axle-trees will stop the clatter caused by too much 
" play." A piece of rubber put in between the thill iron and clip will silence 
matters there ; and a little coal oil on the circle, or fifth wheel, will stop squeak- 
ing. Where nuts work loose, cut a thread in front of them with a cold chisel, 
after screwing them up tight. A monkey wrench should be carried, that the 
nuts of different sizes may be attended to. It is as necessary to look over a 
carriage before going out to ride in it, as the sounding of wheels on a railroad 
train. A great number of lives have been lost, and thousands of dollars in 
runaways, caused by the sudden giving out of some part of a vehicle, A bolt, 
perhaps, has long rattled its signal of death, and been entirely unheeded. 

Carriage Covering. — To keep the carriage free from barn-dust, use a 
cover upon it. This is best made of enameled cloth, but any cloth will do. It 
can be made like an open sack, to be drawn over, or large and square, so as 
to hang over ends and sides. 

Using Sponges on Carriages. — These should be kept in good supply, 
and if convenient, add chamois. Where neither are at hand, use old cotton 
rags. Sponges and chamois are much better. Never use upon the body of the 
carriage the rag or sponge that has been applied to the hub, or about the irons 
where grease is used. 

Varnishing Carriages. — Never use oil to brighten varnish, as many 
recommend, for if either animal or vegetable, it will leave a gummy surface, 
which will catch and hold fine particles of dirt, and make the carriage look worse 
after a short time than before the oil was applied ; and further than this, it puts 
the surface in a bad condition for applying varnish when it is found to be neces- 
sary, or even for repainting. 

The correct plan to adopt, is to use the carriage as it should be used until the 
luster is gone, and then take it to a reliable shop and have it properly coated 
with good material. 

If varnished at home, as it may be, very nicely, after a little practical experi- 
ence, do not use cheap material, for it is mistaken economy ; while the difference 
in the cost of sufficient varnish to coat a vehicle is but a few cents, the profits 
from looks and wear in favor of the better, amount to dollars. As to how to 
prepare and apply varnish, see chapter under head of Varnish and Varnishing. 



136 MANAGEMENT OF THE HARNESS. 

MANAGEMENT OF THE HARNESS. 



Mnid on IIarne§§. — Mud is more destructive to leather than moderate 
wear, and so one of the chief things to be observed in the care of harness is to 
keep it clean and the pores filled with proper ingredients to increase the pliable- 
ness, and at the same time render the leather impervious to water. 

HoMT to Wash a Marnesg. — One thing to remember in cleaning a car- 
riage is that the mud which has accumulated is not to be taken off by rubbing ; 
if it is dry (and it should never be allowed to become so if it is possible to pre- 
vent it), soak it well and let it get soft, so that by throwing on water it will run 
off. 

When harness is to receive a thorough dressing unbuckle every strap and 
wash clean with warm soft water, in which there is a little castile soap, using a 
sponge or cloth, and when nearly dry apply the oil. 

Oil for a IIariie§§. — Vegetable oils, with the exception of castor oil, 
should not be applied to the harness, as they are hardening in their effects. 
Neatsfoot oil is perhaps one of the very best leather protectives that can be 
used. Before applying it is necessary that the leather be slightly dampened, so 
that the oil will penetrate. I have used with good effect one quart neatsfoot 
oil, four ounces beefs tallow and three tablespoonfuls of lampblack ; add four 
ounces beeswax for use in summer weather, if you choose. 

How to Oil a Harness. — There are two ways of making the applica- 
tion of oil. One is to rub with a woolen cloth, saturated with oil, every part of 
the harness, save those of patent leather ; another way is to put two or three 
quarts of neatsfoot oil in a long, shallow pan, and draw each piece of leather 
through it slowly, bending the leather backward and forward, and rubbing the 
oil in with a cloth or sponge. In either case be careful that where the buckle 
holes are, a little more is applied ; also the bellybands, breechings and the 
straps that buckle in the bits, need an extra allowance. On an old harness that 
is very dry, dress with castor oil before washing ; this will prevent penetration 
of water, which resists oil. 

Manag-ement After Oiling^. — After oiling, the harness should not be 
exposed to high temperature of heat, either in a room or by exposure to the 
direct rays of the sun. In summer time let it hang in the barn, in winter in a 
moderately warm room, until the oil has well penetrated. Rub off with a dry 
woolen rag all the oil that remains on the surface, if any, after drying. 

To Clean tlie Plating. — In cleaning the plating, rotten stone or whit- 
ing may be used, but generally an occasional rubbing off with a woolen cloth 
will be all that is necessary. 

I>ressing Patent l<eatlaer Parts. — The patent leather parts of a har- 
ness, such as blinders, saddle, etc., should be rubbed over with sweet oil, and 



MANAGEMENT OF THE HARNESS. 



137 



immediately wiped off with a soft woolen rag or chamois leatho* ; this is all the 
care those parts need. 

M-eepiiig- a llar]ie§§ Nice. — Whenever the harness comes from the 
street bespattered with mud, wipe it clean with a damp cloth, and then hang 
up each part so that it keeps a natural position. With good care a well made 
harness will last twenty years. 

Crrain ISIack for Harness. — When harness loses its luster and turns 
brown, which almost any leather will do after long exposure to the air, the har- 
ness should be given a new coat of grain black. Before using this grain black, 
the grain surface should be thoroughly washed with potash water until all the 
grease is killed, and after the application of the grain black, oil and tallow 
should be applied to the surface. This will not only " fasten the color," but 
inake the leather flexible. After the harness has had a good oiling, an occa- 
sional rubbing with tallow and lampblack will keep the leather tough and plia- 
ble, and prevent it from cracking. 

To Make Harness Look New.— To give the leather a characteristic 
color of new, add to one pint of oil a large tablespoonful of lampblack and 
an ounce or two of beeswax. Leather varnishes are not to be recommended, 
3.5 most of them are hurtful to leather. 

The Drauglat Harness. — The attachment of the 
side or tug straps is another important feature. The staple 
on the hames should be neither too high nor too low, but 
at just the point where the draught will bring the collar 
with an even pressure upon the shoulders. If the hames 
are either over large or too small for the collar, it will 
be difficult to make a proper adjustment. For field work 
there should be no more gearing than possible, and when 
it is seen that any part of the harness galls, stop at 
■once and make new adjustments. 

To Fit a Collar.— A collar for a horse to work 
■easily should fit well. Sufficient attention is not usually 
paid to this point. A large horse is made to wear a 
.small collar, and a small horse a large collar, a thing that 
should not be done. When purchasing, get a collar that is well adapted to 
the neck and shoulders, then dip it in water until the leather is moistened 
through, and put the horse to work. Let it adapt itself, and dry there. It 
will be a good fit ever after. 

Harness Blacking'. — Three ounces of beeswax, four ounces ivory black, 
one pint neat's-foot oil, two ounces castile soap, two ounces of lard, and one 
■ounce of aloes ; to be boiled together. 

Second Formula. — Melt four ounces of mutton suet with twelve ounces 
of beeswax ; add twelve ounces of sugar candy, four ounces of soft soap, dis- 




THE DRAUGHT HARNESS. 



138 MANAGEMENT OF THE HARNESS. « 

solved in water, and two ounces of indigo finely powdered. When melted and 
well mixed, add half a pint of turpentine. Lay it on the harness with a sponge, 
and polish off with a brush. 

Third Formula. — Beeswax (shred fine) eight ounces, turpentine sufficient 
to cover it ; let them stand till the wax is dissolved (three or four days) ; ivory 
black four ounces, olive oil (I use neat's-foot oil) two ounces, Prussian blue twa 
ounces. Rub the ivory black and Prussian blue well together to a fine powder 
in a mortar ; then add the oil and gradually the other ingredients and thoroughly 
mix them. If it gets hard by keeping, soften with turpentine. 

Fourth Formula. — Three ounces of turpentine, two ounces of white 
wax, to be dissolved together over a slow fire ; then add one ounce of ivory- 
black and one drachm of indigo, to be well pulverized and mixed together. 
When the wax and turpentine are dissolved, add the ivory black and indigo„ 
and stir till cold. Apply it to the harness very thin, and brush well afterward. 

Fifth Formula. — A very fine black for harness is made of quarter of a 
pound of beeswax, two ounces of ivory black, one ounce spirits of turpentine,, 
one ounce of Prussian blue ground in oil, and quarter of an ounce copal varnish. 
Melt the wax and stir it into the other ingredients before the mixture is cold,, 
and make it up into balls. Apply by rubbing a little upon a brush and brush- 
ing the leather lightly ; polish with a piece of silk. 

Heavy Harness Hlaeking. — A good blacking for heavy harness that 
has to be exposed to the weather, is made of quarter of a pound of ivory blacky 
quarter of a pound of brown sugar, half a pound of beef tallow, and a small 
piece of gum arabic. Make a paste of a tablespoonful of wheat flour, and 
while hot put in the tallow ; after it is melted, add the sugar, then add the re- 
maining ingredients and one quart of hot water, stirring it until quite mixed. 
This will be found to be a cheap and serviceable blacking for heavy harness ex- 
posed to mud and rain, but is not to be commended for light gearing, as it 
will rub off more or less when being handled. 

Slaeking- for i^trap Edges. — Blacking for the edges of leather, where 
trimming has been done, or for russet leather, is made of one quart of low 
proof vinegar, six ounces of treacle, six ounces of ivory black, one and a half 
ounces vitriolic acid and one and a half ounces spermaceti. Mix the acid and 
oil first, afterward add the other ingredients. If it does not dry quick enough,, 
add a little more vitriol, but be very careful about adding the vitriolic acid, as it 
varies a great deal in strength ; if too much acid is added, it gives the blacking 
a brown color. It is not to be recommended for any other purpose than that 
specified. 

Olo^sing Harness. — After oiling, sponge off the harness with a thick 
lather made of castile soap, and when dry, follow in the same manner with a 
solution of gum tragacanth, of which take one half ounce, and boil down with 
two quarts of water to three half pints. While boiling, stir the contents freely^ 



MANAGEMENT OF THE HARNESS. I39 

as the gum is apt to set to the bottom of the vessel in which it is boiled, and 
when nearly or quite cool lay it on quite thinly, for if laid on too thick it is apt 
to crack and to prove unsatisfactory. 

Finishings Color. — When raw leather has been used, a finish may be 
given it that is black and nice, by use of the following preparation : One ounce 
of gum tragacanth, two ounces each of superfine ivory black, neat's-foot oil, and. 
deep blue prepared from iron and copper ; four ounces of brown sugar, and four 
ounces of river water. Evaporate the water, and form the blacking into balls 
or cakes. When using, rub the cake over the leather, and polish with a cotton 
cloth. 

French Polish for Harness. — Four and a half pounds of stearine, six 
and a half pounds turpentine, and three ounces of coloring or ivory black. 
Beat the stearine out to thin sheets with a mallet, then mix it with the turpen- 
tine, and subject it to a water bath. While heating, it must be stirred contin- 
ually ; the coloring matter is thrown in after the mass has become thoroughly 
heated. It is thrown into another pot and stirred until it is cool and thick ; if 
not stirred, the mass will crystallize and the parts become separated. When 
used, it must be warmed, and a small quantity rubbed on the leather with a 
cloth ; use but little at a time and put on very thin. 

After it has partially dried, rub with a silk cloth, and a polish will be pro- 
duced equal to that of newly varnished leather. This polish is also said to be 
good for carriage tops, and will do no injury to leather. 

Varnish for Harness. — Generally speaking I am not very much in favor 
of using either varnishes or polishes, but give formulas for those who think 
differently. Digest shellac, twelve parts ; white turpentine, five parts ; gum 
sandarac, two parts ; lampblack, one part ; with spirits of turpentine, four 
parts ; and alcohol, ninety-six parts. 

Another Method. — Half a pound of india-rubber, one gallon of spirits of 
turpentine ; dissolve by a little heat to make it into a jelly ; then take equal 
quantities of hot linseed oil and the above mixture, and incorporate them well 
on a slow fire. 

Adjustable Bridle Bits. — A set of adjustable bridle bits may be very 
easily prepared by the simple application of a couple of little straps, with a 
buckle on one end of each, attached to the common bit. The straps can be quickly 
slipped through the side rings of a five ringed halter and buckled, when halter 
is at once converted into a bridle. Check reins can be attached also, or the 
hitching strap be made to answer the purpose. 

Leather Bridle Bits. — It is inhuman to thrust frosted bits into a 
horse's mouth. It is considerable trouble to warm the bits every time a horse 
is harnessed and leather may be used to overcome the trouble. Ordinary bits, 
may be covered with leather. For this purpose, use light bridle leather, draw it 
over the iron wet, so that the edges come together, but not to lap, channel so 



140 



MANAGEMENT OF THE HARNESS. 



as to allow the stitches to sink below the surface of the leather, cover not only 
the mouth piece, but also as much of the cheek piece as will be hkely to touch 
the flesh. 

Using' Check Straps. — The check straps or reins are misused more fre- 
quently than any other parts of the harness. Their whole purpose is to make 
the horse show up nicely, and for a little carriage drive are well enough, but 

when a horse is put to heavy draughts 
or driven a long distance, they are 
simply barbarous. A man can real- 
ize something of this by attempting 
to walk half an hour with his head 
pulled back out of its natural posi- 
tion. A horse with an arched neck 
and head set well up, as in illustra- 
tion, will stand the check strap with 
tolerable ease, while to put up the 
head of a differently built animal 
would be extremely cruel. 

Mending Harness. — Time 
may be saved as well as much an- 
noyance, by being able to repair 
breakages in the harness. All the 
outfit required is a straight and 
crooked awl, a few waxed ends, and 
clamps. The awls and threads may 
be obtained at a shoe shop, and the clamps made at home. 

Harness Clamps. — To make a pair of clamps, take a block about six 
inches square and after beveling two sides, screw on two boards, as illustrated, 
about five inches wide, thirty inches long and shaped at top so 
as to set closely. Two oak barrel staves properly fitted make 
very good clamp sides. 

Panelling Buekle Holes. — When it is desired to make 
a hole through a strap for a buckle tongue, do not attempt to 
make it by thrusting the blade of a knife through. If there is 
nothing better than the knife to use, make the hole by turning a 
small blade round and round, until it is drilled, instead of cut 
through. For making these holes nothing is so good as a punch, 
which may be bought for fifteen or twenty cents. Punch from 
T,EATHER CLAMP, back slde to the front, as there is less liability of the grain of the 
leather cracking from the strain on the buckle tongue, and to be the cause event- 
ually, of the leather tearing, as it causes such a crease where the tongue catches 
that it injures the texture of the leather and enlarges the hole more or less ; 




THE CHECK STRAP. 




MANAGEMENT OF THE HARNESS. I4E 

in addition to this, if the leather is very strong, the tongue of the buckle is sure 
to be bent out of shape. The punch should be set at an angle of about twenty- 
degrees, cutting the hole at such an angle that the buckle tongue will rest in it 
without throwing any strain on the inside of the leather. 

Riveting^ Harness Straps. — Broken straps may be mended by use of 
rivets, if one is not provided with the requisites for sev/ing. To make the work 
still more reliable, cement may be used in connection with the rivets (see 
" Cement for Leather"); however, rivets alone if of the proper size and well put 
in, make leather work very firm, A gentleman writes : 

" I make and mend all my harness with copper belt rivets. The process is 
so simple, the work so secure, the time it takes to do it so trifling, and the cost so 
small, that any owner of a horse ought to provide himself with the requisites. 

"Two rivets are enough for almost any joint in bridles, buggy harness, lines, 
etc. The pieces are lapped about an inch ; two holes are punched upon a piece 
of lead or a hard piece of wood, with the hand or hammer punch, as the case 
may be ; the rivets are put in from the under side (with the head end always 
toward the horse, so as not to chafe the skin). The rivets should be cut right 
length before inserting. The rivet is now headed down by a few light taps of 
the brad hammer, and the new head smoothed down with a few light taps of 
the driving end of the hammer, and the joint is complete, and will never give 
way till the leather rots ; and it is all done before you can make a waxed end, 
or before you could make the holes with the awl, if you had the end ready. 

" One caution is necessary ; a beginner is very apt to head down too hard, by 
which means the head end of the rivet is forced through the leather on the 
under side, and the joint unbuttons, as sometimes called, and is worthless. A 
little care will obviate this trouble. 

Rivets and Punches. — " The convenient sizes of rivets are 3^, %, )^, 
^ and Ji, for the different thicknesses of leather. The smallest for bridle reins 
or any single or light strap. They are called No. 12, and count four and 
five hundred per pound. Two punches of different sizes are required, one for 
large rivets and the other for small. It is very convenient to have a spring 
hand punch, with tubes of two sizes ; but in wide work, the straight hammer 
punch, already mentioned, is necessary. 

Harness Knife. — " The harness knife is indispensable. I used a straight 
edge a while ; but it was very troublesome. The knife should be gauged to cut 
from half an inch to four inches. Mine is home-made ; the handle is hickory, 
and the graduated slide is fastened at any desired point with a wedge ; the knife 
part can be made at the grindstone, out of an old piece of broken scythe blade, 
a broken pocket or shoe knife blade, or any other thin piece of steel which can 
be held with nippers or a hand vise, and ground to shape in a few minutes ; 
my knife cuts anything, from a shoe string to a five inch back band. A good- 
article can be bought for about seventy-five cents 



142 HOW TO SHOE A HORSE. 

The Brad Hammer. — " The brad hammer should be light, but heavy 
enough to do any ordinary nail driving. My blacksmith has just made me one 
for forty cents. A late improvement in hammers is a cast steel brad and 
claw hammer combined, which serves both purposes admirably, and is very 
convenient. 

Trimmingr Bfippers. — " The trimmer's nippers are very necessary. If a 
brad is too short no harm can be done ; but if it is too long, an inexperienced 
hand is apt to try to head it down anyhow. The result is that the brad is bent, 
an ugly, rough lump of a head is made, and generally, the hard hammering 
necessary, forces the head end of the brad through the leather on the under 
side, and the joint is worthless. This is all avoided by cutting the rivet down 
to the right length by the nippers before the hammer touches it. These same 
trimmer's nippers are very useful for drawing any kind of a nail, cutting nails, 
cutting wire for fence ties, twisting wire bands, etc., etc. 

Work Horse Oearing^. — " There is a great deal in gearing a horse so as 
to enable the animal to work easily and use a certain amount of power, with 
comparatively small animal force. Much depends on long or short leverage. 
The draught may be too high or too low ; the one will draw too heavy on the 
top of the neck, the other will choke the animal. The collar may be too large 
or too small — either of which will cause sore shoulders. A tender-mouthed 
horse should have a large, smooth bit, and not be reined up too tight, or the 
mouth will become so sore as to lose its sensitiveness to a gentle draw of the 
rein. Every part of the harness should be as complete a fit as a dandy's coat, 
-touching everywhere and pinching nowhere." 



HOW TO SHOE A HORSE. 



Errors in Shoeing'. — Veterinary surgeon G. W. Ainger furnished the 
author of this work his written opinion upon the important matter of shoeing 
the horse, which I deem most excellent authority : 

It is utterly impossible in an article like this to go into an elaborate discussion 
upon the art of shoeing a horse, or to detail the exact manner a horse should be 
shod, for individuals differ, and horses' feet are not all alike ; but I will point to 
a few errors common in horse shoeing in the country, and in which I think the 
owner of the horse quite as much to blame as the blacksmith. 

The fault of the owner consists in not being at all satisfied if the shoes do 
not remain for at least three or four months, and the blacksmith well under- 
stands that the bread for his family depends upon the length of time the shoes 
■remain, rather than the health and future usefulness of the horse, and here I 



HOW TO SHOE A HORSE. I43 

would remark, that a shoe should never, under any circumstances, remain on 
a horse more than two months, and a less time would be all the better. 

Paring" a Horse'§ Foot. — The first operation generally after the horse 
arrives at the forge for shoeing, is to tear off the old shoes, if any are on ; then 
the shoer takes his knives, and the process of paring out the hoof commences. 
This procedure is as barbarous as it is unnecessary and unreasonable, espe- 
cially when carried to the extent that it often is, viz.: to pare the sole until it 
springs to the pressure of the thumb. In the great majority of shops this most 
pernicious practice is carried out, either because the owner of the horse thinks 
it necessary or the blacksmith that it is more workmanlike, though if he is 
pressed hard for any other reason, he is unable to give one of a satisfactory 
character. 

The practice of the paring of the sole is, in my opinion, absurd in the ex- 
treme, and has not the most trifling recommendation to support it. Nor do I 
believe that in the operation of shoeing a horse, an edged tool should ever be 
used. The rasp is all that is necessary, and that should be used with ex- 
treme caution. 

Anatomy of the Hor§e's Foot. — In the natural construction of the 
horse's foot, the horn is secreted from the living surface, and myriads of beau- 
tiful vascular and sensitive tufts dependent from this surface enter the horn 
fibers to a certain depth, and play an important part in the formation of the sole. 
The newly formed horn is soft and spongy and incapable of resisting exposure 
to the air ; but as it is pushed further away from this surface by successive de- 
posits of fresh material, it becomes old horn, loses its moisture, and in doing 
so acquires hardness sufficient to withstand external influences. Then it is 
subjected to wear, and if this be insufficient to reduce sufficiently, it falls off 
in scales. This natural diminution in the excess of horn of the sole is a most 
beneficial process for the hoof. 

Horn is a slow conductor of heat and cold, and when thick retains moisture 
for a long period. These flakes then act as a natural " stopping " to the hoof 
by accumulating and retaining moisture beneath, and this not only keeps the 
foot cool as it slowly evaporates, but insures for the solid and growing horn, 
its toughness, elasticity and proper development. In addition to this, every 
flake acts more or less as a spring in warding off bruises or other injuries to 
the sole. Any one can readily understand the damage that must result in con- 
sequence of the sole being thus ruthlessly denuded of its protection and exposed 
to the most serious injury. 

Frog of tlie Horse's Foot. — Next comes the paring of the frog. It 
seems to be the opinion of nearly all blacksmiths that it requires cutting to 
prevent its coming on the ground and laming the horse. 

There never was a horse yet lamed by his frog coming in contact with the 
ground, and horses are often benefited by having a direct pressure of the frog 



144 HOW TO SHOE A HORSE. 

upon the ground, and many horses are at work every day upon hard pavements 
with a bar shoe so arranged as to sustain the whole pressure of the posterior 
portion of the hoof on the frog, and thereby relieve the quarters or pressure on. 
corns and other troubles. Then, gentlemen, leave the frogs entirely alone. 

Heel of tlie Horse's Foot. — Then comes the opening of the heels. 
Having done everything possible to ruin the sole and frog, the blacksmith , 
proceeds to complete the work by opening the heels. YoCi ask him why, ■ 
and he answers, " to give the heels a chance to expand." Now lift up your 
horse's foot and examine it, and if you are then satisfied that from the natural 
shape of the hoof, that the pressure of the weight of the horse upon the foot 
must crowd the heels nearer together, were it not for the beautiful protection 
that nature has provided in the bars and braces at the side of the frog termin- 
ating at the heels, and the utility of which is entirely destroyed by the opening 
process, then be sure to order your blacksmith to let the heels alone. 

Putting on a Horseshoe. — See to it that the shoe is constructed to 
fit the foot, not the foot cut down to fit the shoe. That the bearing surface of 
the shoe is smooth and level. That the nails are not too large, and never to 
exceed seven in number, four on the outside and three on the inside of the foot,, 
and don't forget to send your horse back ta the forge in about six weeks, to 
have them reset, and my word for it, you will have less lame horses and better 
travelers, and in any event your horse will feel grateful for the change. 

Toe Calks for Horseshoes. — Another good authority, writing upon 
this subject, says that blacksmiths sometimes swindle their customers by forg- 
ing calks from a piece of some old horse shoe which a customer has thrown 
away, and which will require sharpening every three days. When toe calks are 
made, good steel should be employed ; and every calk should be tempered as 
hard as a cold chisel for cutting hard iron. 

After a calk has been tempered, attempt to file it. If the file will not cut the 
surface, the metal is sufficiently hard to wear a long time and keep sharp.. 

Owners of horses should keep awake to the difference between soft iron and 
tough, hard steel in the toe calk. 

Two cents' worth of steel per shoe, properly tempered, would frequently have 
saved the price of resetting and sharpening the calks, besides preventing, per- 
haps, some serious injury to the horse, in consequence of slipping when his 
calks were dull. 

Another author says, that where horses are to be used in hilly sections, the 
toe calks should be made with special reference to drawing a load up hill, and 
this change will not injure the shoe for common use. He says : It must be 
quite evident that the greater expanse of bearing we give a foot on the earth, 
the firmer must be the tread, and as the hind foot is the great fulcrum by which 
a horse gets up hill with a load, too much attention cannot be given to effect 
the firmest hold for it. The toes of shoes are very generally made round, or 



MANAGING TEAMS. 



145 



nearly so ; the consequence is, the horse's toe comes to the ground on a very- 
small segment of circle — in fact, on a pivot — the effect of which is, the foot turns 
to the right and left, and the legs and hocks naturally follow the turn of the 
foot ; this, of course, produces the twisting of the hocks ; and the leg not being 
able to be kept straight, the horse loses a large portion of his powers , spavins, 
curbs, thoroughpins, and strained ligaments are the future consequences, and 
fatigue the present one. 

The shoe should be made square at the toe to the very extreme verge of the 
foot, it then com.es to the ground with from two inches to two inches and a-half 
firm hold ; whereas, in many instances it has not half an inch ; indeed, some- 
times (if newly shod) less. 

Adjusting tlie Slioe. — It is a bad practice some blacksmiths have of 
hammering the shoe on the one side or the other after three or four nails have 
been driven, for the purpose of putting it straight on the foot. This is a speedy 
method of making up for his total want of accuracy in placing it at first ; but it 
should never be practiced. It strains all the nails which have already been 
driven, and is thus calculated to do serious damage to the foot. 



MANAGING TEAMS. 



Ho"W to Unliitch a Team. — There is always a right way to do every- 
thing, and the right way to unhitch a team is that which is quickest and safest. 
I have often noticed farm boys, and not only farm boys, but men, disconnect 
a team from a wagon in a very unsafe manner ; something as follows : 

The driver springs from the wagon, goes to the side of the horses, puts up 
the lines, unbuckles them at the bits, lets down the neck yoke, unhitches the 
tugs and leads the horses away disconnected. 

Now this mode is very common, and very risky. Let us notice why : In the 
first place, as soon as the lines are put up you have lost your means of control, 
as soon as the pole is down your horses are in peril. Supposing they should 
take fright, which is common to the most quiet animals, the result of a team 
running with only the tugs hitched can be imagined. I have cases in mind 
where horses have sped away with maddened fury in exactly this condition, the 
pole plowing the ground, and at every plunge of the frenzied animals, the wagon 
striking their heels, frightening them to perfect desperation. 

Now the right way, or a good way at least, is to keep the lines in hands or 
where they can be reached until the tugs are all unhitched, then your team is 
free from the wagon, unless a stationary neck yoke is used, next go directly in 



146 PAINTS AND PAINTING. 

front of the horses and let down the neck yoke, and after this separate them as 
convenient. 

Working Double Teams.— Whenever one span of horses is hitchea 
before another, if the leaders are hitched to the end of the tongue, it should be 
lov^ered to a horizontal position. Or a chain may extend from the whippletrees 
of the leaders to the hind end of the tongue. If the tongue is not horizontal, a 
large portion of the strain v^^ill bear like a heavy burden on the necks of the 
wheelers. 



PAINTS AND PAINTING. 



Value of Paint. — If every one fully realized the value of paint and var- 
nish there would be a much greater amount used than ihere has been hereto- 
fore, and thousands of dollars saved to the country , for I really believe that 
there is more property lost annually by the decay of material substances which 
might be preserved, than is expended for paints. Paint not only preserves 
wood, but improves it in appearance, and enhances its value four times the cost 
of material used. A house upon the farm, or m the village, well painted, always 
commands an extra price of at least one hundred dollars for every twenty-five 
expended in beautifying A. 

Foundation for Paint. — Many suppose that it is economy, when a 
good coat of paint is desired, to use for priming some cheap substance mixed 
with oil, but that is a mistaken policy. Cheap paints do not fill up the grains 
of the wood and adhere firmly. It is much better to use pure white lead for 
the first coat, and cheaper paints for finishing ; but this is not advisable. Use 
good material from the foundation up to the finishing coat. It is cheaper in the 
long run. Sometimes, for old, weather-beaten siding, it may be advisable to 
use about one half common whiting and one half white lead, adding a small 
portion of red lead and chrome yellow to overcome the blackness of the wood, 
or add umber for a drab color. 

Time for Outdoor Painting^. — It is not advisable to do house paint- 
ing in midsummer, for then the atmosphere is filled with dust and insects, and 
more or less will settle upon, and be retained by fresh paint. Besides this, in 
hot weather, the oil is rapidly absorbed by the wood and the lead is left upon 
the hot surface in a comparatively lifeless condition , paint should be two or 
three days hardening to be tough and durable. Fall and spring are the best 
seasons ; then the paint will dry hard and glossy, and withstand the storms 
of years. 

Oetting^ IS^eady to Paint. — If raw material is to be used, mix the paint 



PAINTS AND PAINTING. 147 

a day or two before it is to be applied, but do not put in the drier until paint- 
ing is to begin. If a colored coat is to be applied, work the mixture thor- 
oughly, and try it upon a piece of board to see that the shade is as desired, and 
that it does not work streaked. Do not mix less than you think will be required 
to do the whole job, especially for the last coat, so that all will be alike. 
Prepare the surface to be painted before you begin. 

Sand paper when necessary', and have putty ready to fill up holes after the 
priming coat. On a building nail down all loose boards. See that the wood is 
dry before beginning to apply the paint. Put in no more drier than is abso' 
lutely necessary. 

How to L«ay on Paint. — Dip only the end of the brush into the paint, 
and begin at the highest point to be coated. By so doing all the drops and 
spatters are swept away as you go down. Begin at one end or corner, and 
after the surface is coated, sweep from end inward, allowing the brush to recede 
gradually from the surface ; never stop the brush abruptly. 

After making the start, then sweep the other way, allov^ring the brush to re- 
cede as swept on to the first patch painted, and so on to the end of the job. 
Do not try to get on a heavy coat, or to economize by a thin one, and do not 
apply a succeeding coat before the previous one is dry. Do not use a lighter 
color over a darker one. When the brush is well loaded with paint, work it 
upon such places as need protection most, and use less upon plain, smooth sur- 
faces. 

The more open and rough the wood, the more use of heavy pressure, and a 
thorough working of the brush. 

Painting Windows.^Do not attempt to paint sashes when in the frames. 
Use a small brush upon windows, turning the sash over as fast as one side is 
finished. Here. too,, precaution should be used against loading the brush too 
heavily. 

Driers for Paint. — Japan has been for a long time a very popular 
material for a drier, but unless a good article, is a detriment to paint, as it 
causes cracking and chipping, and consequently injures the surface. Use a 
good article, and, as before said, as little as will do the work. Turpentine is a 
detriment to paint, if used in any considerable amount. Painters like to use it, 
for it makes an easier flow of th€ material. To be convinced that spirits of 
turpentine injures the durability of paint, it is only necessary to observe the 
effects produced by using it as a means of removing paint spots on wood or 
cloth. 

To Select Linseed Oil. — The best linseed oil is yellow, transparent, 
comparatively sweet scented, and has a flavor resembling that of the cucum- 
ber. 

Testing "White Lead.— As white lead is the foundation of very many 
of the paints used, it is economy to purchase only a good article. If it is under 



• 148 PAINTS AND PAINTING. 

price, it should be rejected ; if it is bulky, it is adulterated with Spanish whit- 
ing. To test it, place a small quantity on a shovel and hold it over a fire ; if it 
is pure, it will retain its color, but if there be any impure article in it, it will 
turn to a dull gray shade, and will crumble. 

To Test Oround Paints. — Spread a little upon the thumb nail ; if it is 
full of specks, it is evidence of its not being sufficiently ground, and if it has a 
dead and watery look, know that it is made of cheap material. Good paint, 
when it is spread thin upon a smooth surface, will have a fine, lively appear- 
ance, and be very adhesive. 

Test for Ultramarine. — The color should be lively and the substance 
well ground. Test by placing a little on the thumb nail and rubbing it with 
the ball of the finger. If full of hard specks do not buy it. To determine 
whether or not it is pure and unadulterated, put a little into an iron vessel and 
heat it red hot. If the powder has not changed color after the trial, it is cer- 
tainly pure ; on the contrary, if there be any change or any black specks in it 
then it has been adulterated. True ultramarine blue, dropped into lemon 
juice, loses its color. 

To Test Vermilion. — Apply to the paint muriatic acid ; if your vermil- 
ion be pure it will not hurt it ; but if it be impure it will turn white or gray. 
Orange vermilion is the best used ; it stands the same test as dark vermilion. 

Test for Madder Lakes. — The best madder lakes are not soluble in 
liquid ammonia, but bad lakes are soluble. The best carmine lake should be 
very vivid, bordering somewhat on the purple, and is of an almost impalpable 
powder. 

Raw and Boiled Oil. — There is a great difference of opinion as to the 
value of raw and boiled oil for general use. A majority of painters use the 
boiled, as it requires less drying, but a long experience with the two has 
convinced me that raw oil should be used for outside work, and boiled oil for 
inside work. I have made practical tests, and convinced old painters who were 
positive before, that boiled oil should be used only for inside work, not exposed 
to the influence of the weather. 

To Boil Oil for Drying. — Fill an iron kettle about half full of good 
raw linseed oil, and to each gallon add one ounce of litharge. Heat until it 
settles all the foam that rises, and a light blue smoke appears. Some test the 
heat by dipping in a feather. If the feather is scorched, enough cooking has 
been done. The kettle should be set in a little arch out of doors for the boiling. 
If it is desired to make the oil dry very quickly, add more litharge, and con- 
tinue heat for quarter of an hour after blue smoke appears. 

To Keep Mixed Paints. — After finishing a job, if there is a quantity 
of paint left to be used some future time, pour over the substance sufficient raw 
linseed oil to form a coating a quarter of an inch thick, and set the dish away. 
When wanted for use pour off the oil, and stir up the paint again. 



PAINTS AND PAINTING. 149 

Senziiie for Painting^. — Any material that will not exclude water suffi- 
ciently to prevent the expansion of the grain of the timber, must be compara- 
tively worthless for paint. Linseed oil possesses the property of drying when 
spread on a surface, and forming a tenacious covering, impervious to water. 
Spirits of turpentine, benzine, benzole, and certain kinds of lubricating oil, all of 
which are frequently used in preparing paint, will not form a covering sufficiently 
tough and hard to resist the action of water ; for which reason the paint that is 
made by employing these volatile materials will be found comparatively worth- 
less for outside work. 

To Select Oood Turpentine. — Turpentine, to be good, should be 
clear and white as water, of a strong, penetrating smell, and very inflammable. 

Time for Drying Paints. — Plenty of time should be given one coat to 
dry before another is applied. Two weeks is always better than two days, 
therefore do not be in a hurry. Other things being equal, paint and varnish 
dry more quickly at a temperature of 80 degrees than below. This explains 
why in practice the proportions of the drier should vary in summer and winter, 
in mixing paints for outside work, and it shows also why paint shops should 
always be kept at a summer temperature. 

Experiments have proved that a coat of ordinary white lead absorbs in drying 
about three per cent, of its weight in oxygen. The time required for this absorp- 
tion, when no drier is used, depends upon the nature of the pigment used. 
Thus, while white lead mixed with raw oil, in a certain series of experiments, 
became dry in three days, zinc white required seven days, antimony white four- 
teen days, and the arseniate of tin, also a white pigment, was quite fresh after 
an interval of two months. 

Test for Japan Drier. — Pour out a few drops of Japan on a stone or a 
piece of glass, and add two or three drops of raw linseed oil. Stir the two 
together, and if the oil readily combines with the Japan, the drier is of a quality 
safe to be used on carriage work. If the Japan repels the oil and the end of the 
stick becomes gummy, the Japan is worthless. 

Painting Vehicles. — Vehicles require a greater time for drying between 
coats than a plain surface, as the side of a house. Vehicles are exposed to 
harder usage, and the paint should be tough. Where sufficient time is not 
given to dry, the paint is liable to crack, as the coats dry unevenly. Where it 
is desired to dress up a vehicle on which the old coat is cracked, the defective 
paint should be removed by heat. 

To Remove Old Paint. — Alcohol and turpentine, equal parts, put on 
and ignited, will answer. The gas jet heats slowly, and softens the paint suffi- 
ciently to admit of its being removed before the heat has penetrated far enough 
down to injure the joints, or draw the oil out of the wood. Having removed 
the cracked paint, the job must be carried through the same process as when 
first painted. See "Wagon Painting." 



150 PAINTS AND PAINTING. 

Paintings Whitewashed Walls. — Where it is desired to paint a plas- 
tered wall, the first thing to do is to prepare the wall for the paint. If it has 
been whitewashed and the coating is loose, or inclined to scale, scrape it 
thoroughly with a flat steel instrument like a piece of saw blade, a plane bit, or 
case knife, being careful not to cut or furrow the plastering. Go over with 
sand paper and brush off thoroughly. 

If the wall is cracked, fill with plaster of Paris wet with water and vinegar. 
The acid will prevent the plaster setting too quickly. Smooth down nicely, and 
the spot will not show, providing the wall is solid each side of the crack and the 
work is properly done. Do not use putty to fill cracks in plastered walls. For 
first coat use about two pounds of white lead to each quart of oil ; for second 
coat five pounds pure lead to each quart of oil well ground. Use such pig- 
ments as required to produce the tint desired ; begin with the tint in first coat. 
A gill of drier should be added to each gallon of paint if raw oil is used. The 
paint may be enhvened by the use of dammar varnish in the last coat. Gloss 
for a wall, to my taste, is not as nice as a flat color. 

Painting- Wood Floors. — The great trouble in painting floors is the 
inconvenience in allowing time for them to dry, until hard and solid. To be 
durable, several days are required for drying, the longer the better. Yellow 
ocher and oil — a pound and a half to a quart, and plenty of Japan drier is 
commonly used for kitchens. Some use half Japan varnish and oil, which make 
a hard and glossy finish. Putty mixed with litharge is good for filling cracks. 
It is a good plan to sand paper after the second coat. Of course, any color may 
be used one desires. Dark gray does not show dirt. 

Painting ISriek Work. — Brick work should be dry when paint is ap- 
plied ; therefore, it should be done in warm, dry weather. This is necessary to 
make the paint adhere well. Where there is a double exposure of brick, both 
surfaces should be coated, for water taken in on one side will pass through and 
loosen the paint on the other. 

Paints for Brieks. — A good coating for brick is made of equal parts of 
yellow ocher and zinc mixed in oil. It makes a soft, mellow color, and one 
very durable. The common mixture for houses is made of Venetian red and 
red oxide of iron. 

" When work is painted simply to preserve it from the action of the weather, 
color and appearance are frequently unimportant considerations ; and whatever 
material will most economically realize the desired result is most desirable. 
The deposits of ocher were deposited in ages long past, and it is reasonable to 
suppose that if these materials had been liable to change, the change would 
have taken place during the ages that they remained unappropriated to the 
use of man ; but experience teaches that they are not subject to those changes 
which belong to most of the artificial products used in painting." 

Painting Briek Work Joints. — " The joints in the stone coping on 



PAINTS AND PAINTING. 15I 

brick walls require constant looking after. These should be made absolutely- 
impervious to water by the application of a mass of soft paint-skins, both on 
the top and edges ; and when this hardens to the point of cracking, it should be 
removed and renewed. Mortar and cement for such purposes are altogether 
useless. The joint, too, between the wall and the coping underneath should be 
well filled with paint-skins before painting ; for no matter how water-proof the 
surface may be, if the water be allowed to percolate through the joints in the 
coping, the integrity of the wall will be destroyed." 

How to Paint Zinc— A difficulty is often experienced in causing oil 
colors to adhere to sheet zinc. Boettger recommends the employment of a 
mordant, so to speak, of the following composition : One part of chloride of 
copper, one of nitrate of copper, and one of sal ammoniac are to be dissolved in 
sixty-four parts of water; to which solution is to be added one part of commer- 
cial hydrochloric acid. 

The sheets of zinc are to be brushed over with this liquid, which gives them 
a deep black color ; in the course of from twelve to twenty-four hours they be- 
come dry, and to their now dirty gray surface a coat of any oil color will firmly 
adhere. Some sheets of zinc prepared in this way and afterward painted, have 
been found to entirely withstand all the atmospheric changes of winter and 
summer. 

Paintings Stoves. — A writer in an English magazine proposes, instead of 
black leading stoves and grates, that they should be painted with liquid glass 
(silicate of potash), coloring with pigment to harmonize with the color of the 
apartment. Before this is applied the iron must be thoroughly cleansed from 
grease and all rust rubbed off with a scratch brush. Two or three coats of the 
paint may then be put on and allowed to dry, after which the fire may be 
lighted without fear of injury to the color ; it may indeed be exposed to a red 
heat without damaging the paint. Grease or milk spilt over the paint has no 
effect upon it, and it may be kept clean by washing with soap and water. 
While it is not probable that it will ever come into general use for stoves, it 
may be appHed to other iron utensils. A good coating, it is said, will stand 
heat for two years. 

Paint for Kitchens. — Why there are so many kitchens but little more 
inviting than a dungeon, I cannot tell, unless the cause lies in the mistaken be- 
lief that dark colors show dirt and smoke less than others. Perhaps it is this 
belief that has led so many to use dark blue and lead colored paints, and dark 
paper for their kitchen walls ; if so, they have used them by force of custom 
and never after once trying the opposite. Any person accustomed to a kitchen 
covered with dark paint and paper, would be astonished at the wonderful 
change made in the appearance of the room by using lighter material. 

The cost of the latter is no more than the former, and of course the expense 
of putting them on would be alike, but the gain is in the transformation of a 



152 PAINTS AND PAINTING. 

prison-like room into one light, airy and home-like. Then why have gloomy 
kitchens ? 

A light stone color is cheap and durable, besides it shows dirt less than any 
other save oak graining, and after it has been in use three years, presents a bet- 
ter appearance than a lead or blue color three weeks after being spread. If the 
window sashes of the kitchen are painted snow white, and the wall overhead 
thoroughly whitewashed, the reflection of light into the room will be increased 
twofold. 

Color of Paint for §leiglis. — Use bright colors. Vermilion and 
lemon are favorite colors. Chinese vermilion is the finest of all reds ; it covers 
well, also holds its color and works smoothly. Carmine and red lead are also 
used. The latter is the cheapest, but it requires much care to grind it fine. 
Lemon color is very popular for running parts. Use chrome yellow. Golden 
brown is very popular. It is made by mixing umber with chrome yellow. The 
finest green is the Paris ; that sold in cans ground in oil, is of a very rich color. 
It can be reduced by mixing with it a Httle white, or yellow pink. The richest 
of all blues is the ultramarine. It is very expensive, but as it has a good body, 
but very little is required to paint the panels of a sleigh. Prussian blue is the 
next best. It is a very rich color and covers well. 

ISickne§s from Paint. — Those who are in constant use of paints are 
very liable to receive, after a time, serious effects from it. White lead, which is 
a carbonate of lead, is one of the most poisonous ingredients in use. Some 
persons cannot endure the odor from this when it is wet up in oil, for a moment, 
without experiencing a sickening sensation ; others will use it for months, or 
perhaps years, before they realize harm, and then suffer the most acute pain, 
which is termed painter's colic. 

Poi§on from Paint. — I have seen paralysis of the hands and bad ulcers 
as the result of lead poisoning. 

Injury is received from lead in two ways, by its coming m contact with the 
person, and by inhaUng the poisonous, subtile emanations that arise in the 
atmosphere. The latter may be avoided to some extent by keeping the paint 
room cool and well ventilated, and when working out of doors, by avoiding the 
direct rays of the sun. 

When the weather is cool enough to admit of it, thin leather gloves may be 
worn to prevent the paint from coming in contact with the person ; this is par- 
ticularly important in the use of lead, Paris and chrome greens, and in the use of 
any other paint where spirits of turpentine is used. A few drops of turpentine 
applied to the palm of the hand will penetrate the whole system, and if very 
much is absorbed, the joints are weakened by it. 

Caution to Painter§. — Workers in lead should wash their hands 
frequently in a decoction of oak bark, wear short hair, and, during work, cloth 
caps. The hands should be cleansed, and the mouth well rinsed with cold 



PAINTS AND PAINTING. 153 

water before eating. The food should contain a large proportion of fat, and 
milk should be taken in large quantities. If these simple rules are strictly 
observed, there is little danger of poison from the use of paint. 

To Prevent Vermilion Chang'ing'. — It is a fact well known to artists 
that the splendidly bright color of vermilion (cinnabar, sulphide of mercury) has 
a tendency, especially if it has been mixed with white lead, to become blackish 
brown and very dark colored in a comparatively short time. This tendency 
•of the vermilion is altogether obviated if, previous to being m'xed with oil, it 
is thoroughly and intimately mingled with about one-eighth of flour of 
sulphur. 

To Remove Paint from Stone. — Put three pounds of sal-soda (wash- 
ing soda) into a gallon of water, heat to a boiling point, and apply with a brush. 
It will soften the paint in a short time, so that it can be cut away or scoured off 
with a scrubbing brush. The solution is inipr'^ved by the addition of a few 
ounces of potash, where the paint is very hard. 

Renewing- Old Paint. — When paint has an old, dingy look, take a 
flannel cloth, dampen it, and apply as much first quality Spanish whiting as will 
adhere to it, and rub the ppint. But little rubbing will be required to remove 
all dirt and grease. Rinse thoroughly with pure water, and then rub dry with 
a soft cloth. Paint thus cleaned looks like new, and does not receive such 
injury as from soap suds. This process of cleaning is a good one to perform 
before laying varnish over old paint. 

To Make Paint Shine Without Varnish. — Add to one gallon of 
linseed oil two ounces of burnt umber, the same of black lead, and one fourth 
pound of litharge ; boil all together. Paints mixed with this oil will dry very 
quickly, have a hard finish and shine nearly as much as if varnished. It may 
be used profitably for indoor painting, and the last coat upon wagons and car- 
riages, where the colors are dark. 

To Purify Lampblaek. — It is said that with very Httle trouble, com- 
mon lampblack may be made to answer the purpose of some of the finer blacks 
at a much less cost. Take a sheet-iron pan, place it over a hot fire and fill it to 
the depth of about two inches with lampblack ; stir this until it all becomes 
hot ; let it remain over the fire until the dirty smoke which commences to rise 
from first heat has ceased, when it becomes red hot ; if no smoke rises from 
it on being stirred, remove it from the fire and when cool it will be found to be 
much improved in color. 

Blaek Paint for Cameras, etc. — The best paint for this purpose is 
composed of shellac dissolved in alcohol and mixed with a large proportion of 
lampblack. If the proportion of shellac be large, the paint will retain a glossy 
surface, which is very detrimental. What is wanted is a smooth, dead black 
surface ; and this is obtained by using just enough shellac to prevent the lamp- 
black from rubbing off, and no more. A few trials will easily enable us to 



154 PAINTS AND PAINTING. 

determine the proper proportions, and then we shall have a paint which cannot 
be excelled. 

To Soften Paint and Putty. — Mix equal parts of good soap, potash 
and slaked lime ; add sufficient water to form a paste ; apply this with a brush 
and let it stand some three or four hours, and your putty or paint will be 
softened, so that it can be easily removed with a blunt chisel. This is a good- 
way to remove the paint from an old carriage body. 

Zinc Coating- for Rooms. — The following I have never tested, but it 
is said to be cheap and durable : A zinc wash for rooms is made of oxide of 
zinc mixed with common size, and applied like whitewash. After it is dry, put 
on a wash of chloride of zinc, which will produce a glossy surface. 

To Make a China Oloss. — A beautiful china gloss, or pearl finish,, 
may be given a parlor wood work by mixing zinc with dammar varnish and tur- 
pentine — no oil. A good foundation should be prepared first, as this mixture 
is somewhat transparent. After two coats of white lead and a third of com- 
mon zinc paint, apply the china gloss. The painter must be lively, as the gloss 
sets almost as quickly as varnish. This finish is very durable. 

economy in Oood Paint§. — It is better to pay double price for a good 
article, for no matter how much pains you may take with a job, if the founda- 
tion is not good the paint will not stand. There is too much carelessness irk 
mixing priming, the coat of all others that should be of the first quality ; a good 
priming is made by mixing the best of white lead, having just enough lamp- 
black in it to give it a light gray shade, with linseed oil ; do not put turpentine 
in the priming ; if the weather is not favorable for drying, or the job is in a 
hurry, use a little of the best drier, or, if inside work, boiled oil and drier should 
be used. 

Paint for Suried Wood. — The simplest and perhaps best paint to 
prevent buried wood from decaying is made of boiled linseed oil, into which 
charcoal is stirred until the whole is of proper consistency. Apply with an or- 
dinary paint brush. 

Paint to Stand Soiling Water. — Yellow ocher in linseed oil is one of 
the best paints that I have ever used for coating any substance coming in direct 
contact with hot water, such as cheese vats, etc. 

Removing Paint from Wood. — Where it is not convenient to apply 
heat, slake three pounds of quicklime in water, and add one pound of pearlash, 
making the whole into the consistence of paint. Lay this over the old work 
with a brush, and let it remain from twelve to fourteen hours, when the paint 
will be easily scraped off. 

Zinc for Outside Work. — Zinc and oil alone are not suitable for house 
painting. First form a good coating with well prepared white lead, and if it is 
desired to have a clear white, use zinc for finishing coat, using considerable 
drier. A house thus pamted will endure the weather for years. 



PAINTS AND PAINTING. I55; 

Yellow Ocher for Rooms. — The use of yellow ocher in coloring the 
walls of rooms is condemned by the Builder, The occupants of such apart- 
ments, it says, invariably complain of pain in the forehead and eyes, often be- 
ing unable to work. When the walls are cleaned of the ocher and white- 
washed these ailments entirely disappear. 

Paintings Over Lime. — Never apply whitewash or other cheap mixture 
to any building, fence or implement that you intend to paint with oil and lead 
afterward. 

How to Copy a Scroll. — When it is desired to copy a scroll for orna- 
menting a vehicle or other painted article, procure a piece of transparent paper 
— oiled paper will do — lay this over the scroll or ornamental striping, and trace 
the outlines carefully with a pencil, writing over each section the color. After 
removing the paper, follow along these pencil lines with a pin, pricking holes 
every quarter of an inch at least, and more frequently in fine parts. This makes 
the pattern. To reproduce, lay the paper on your painted surface and tamp 
along the lines a little bag of Spanish whiting — a little rag with whiting tied in 
tightly will do. Dotted lines will be left as a guide for striping and ornament- 
ing. 

Cheap Way to Orind Paint. — Take a small tin or wooden pail and 
lay a good strong piece of cotton cloth over the top and tack to the sides ; if of 
Wood, or if of tin, tie a string around under the wire at the top, then bag the cloth 
in the center and put in the paint and rub it through with a stick, two inches in 
diameter, six inches long, well rounded and smoothed at the end. Mix the 
paint thoroughly before putting it into the strainer. After being rubbed through 
a cloth, paint is sufficiently ground for ordinary work. It works admirably, also,. 
for mixing colors. 

Why Paint Crack.§. — There are many theories why paint cracks, and 
absurd ones too. Some lay it to absorption of the oil by wood, but such should 
be convinced that this is not correct, by observing that the same material spread 
upon iron or steel, or even glass, will crack just the same. Experience has 
taught me that it may arise from three causes; poor material, boiled oil, and 
applying coats of paint with too little time for dr}'ing between them. 

Boiled oil will appear to dry very rapidly, and the surface will become glazed 
over, but beneath this thin, hard glaze the paint is only gummed. Where but 
one coat of paint is applied, there is little, if any, difficulty about cracking ; but 
as there are generally from three to four coats, the paint does not become thor- 
oughly dry on each, although it may appear to be so en the surface. The at- 
mosphere will in time complete the drying, but as a consequence, the coats dr)r 
unevenly and crack by the gradual contractions of the gummy portions beneath. 
To obviate the trouble, good pigments only should be used, and mixed with raw 
oil, and then plenty of time given for each separate coat to dry. The hardening- 
may be advanced by the use of drier, but do not put in more than an ounce to« 



156 COLORS AND SHADES IN PAINTS. 

the pound. But very little, if any, turpentine should be used. Too much drier 
will cause paint to contract rapidly and form fine checks, which will afterward 
increase in size. 

The Paint Board. — One difficulty that the amateur encounters in paint- 
ing, is the liability to touch parts that are not to be dressed when applying a 




A HANDY PAINT BOARD, 



coating to casings, or parts where other colors are to be used. To obviate that 
trouble use what I call a paint board. It should be about six inches wide, two 
feet long, and half an inch thick. Shape and cut a hand hole as illustrated. 
Plane long edge down on one side until quite sharp. This board is held in the 
left hand to protect parts not to be touched. It makes a good paper border 
protector also when whitewashing a room. 



COLORS AND SHADES IN PAINTS. 



Harmony of Colors. — To get harmony of colors red looks well with 
black, white, or yellow ; blue with white and yellow ; green with white, black, 
and yellow ; white with any color. 

mixing Paints for Color. — It should be remembered that one cannot 
tell the exact shade of paint by seeing it in the dish ; a little must be spread, 
and well worked down with the brush to develop the true tint. Where a shade 
is to be obtained by adding a pigment to white, the paint must be thoroughly 
worked to bring out the tint in a uniform surface. After mixing well grind it 
•on a stone or through a cloth. 

Red Paints. — Chinese vermilion is the richest and most beautiful of all 
reds. American vermilion of good quality is quite attractive. Red lead comes 
third, and Venetian red last. Any of these may be varied by the use of white. 

Olive Color.— Olive may be made by mixing violet and green in equal 
parts, or black and a little blue with yellow ocher, or other mixtures that give a 
dark brownish green color. The shade may be varied by frequent tests, until it 
pleases the fancy. Burnt verdigris makes an olive color, and dries well. All 
copper greens make good olives, when burned. 



COLORS AND SHADES IN PAINTS. 1 57 

Light Blue. — Take ground white lead and linseed oil, and mix to about 
the thickness of cream, or a little thinner, then add Prussian blue to suit the 
taste. But little of the blue is required, and the only way to test the shade is 
to thoroughly mix in a very small quantity at first, and try by spreading a little 
with the brush. 

Pearl Oray. — Mix white oxide of lead with pure ivory black ; a fine flaxen 
gray by mixing dry white lead with lake and Prussian blue, the proportions ta 
be governed by the shade desired, grind in oil ; this is the best gray, as it will 
not fade like all other grays. 

To Hake a Buff. — To get a good buff, or straw color, mix yellow 
ocher with zinc or lead, shade to please the eye. 

To Make Canary YelloAV. — This very attractive shade is produced 
by mixing chrome yellow with white, or the buff may be made a canary tint by 
the addition of chrome yellow. 

Purple Paint. — Purple may be made by mixing dark red with violet color^ 
or by the use of the lake known in the market as purple lake. Purple lakes, 
however, will not last ; they soon fade and become cloudy. Rose colors of 
madder and pure ultramarine make the best purples for standing, as light and 
impure air will not affect them. Ultramarine and pure vermilion are equally as 
permanent, but less transparent. A purple from one color can be made, which. 
is very durable, by burning madder carmine, stirring it until it becom.es the 
color required. 

Portland Stone Color. — Umber and white, or umber, sienna and 
white ; black and white, gray or stone white ; or white, umber and yellow, make 
Portland stone. 

Blue L<inie§tone. — White lead, twenty-five parts ; burnt umber, two 
parts ; ultramarine blue, one-half part ; all ground in oil. These shades may 
be modified to suit the taste. 

Violet Color§. — Violet colors may be made by use of red and black, red 
and blue ; but the richest is made by the combination of red, white, and bhie. 
No rule can be given for mixing, as tastes differ so much. By a union of the 
three last colors, one can obtain a pleasing violet. 

Chestnut Color. — This may be produced by the mixture of red, yellow, 
and a little black. 

To Make a Drab. — Lampblack in zinc makes a drab. It may be pro- 
duced also by use of umber and metallic brown paints. 

Peacli-blo^v Color. — This is produced by adding a little red to white. 
A very delicate color can be made, by use of zinc and red lead ; cheaper, by 
using Spanish whiting and white lead, equal parts, tinted by Venetian red. 

Bark Lead Color. — A dark lead color is made by the addition of lamp- 
black to white lead. The shade may be varied and enriched by the use of a. 
little indigo. 



358 COLORS AND SHADES IN PAINTS. 

Indigo for Paint. — Indigo is a cheap and durable blue ; it grinds fine 
and bears a good body ; its natural color being very dark, it can easily be toned 
to any desirable shade, by mixing in a small quantity of white lead. The two 
should be thoroughly worked together. 

Oreen Paints. —Paris green is one of the best shades we have, but it is 
objectionable on account of its poisonous qualities. The commercial prepared 
^reen is very good, but all the green paints will fade. A very pretty shade may 
be obtained by mixing blue and yellow. 

Flat Zinc. — Oil and zinc lead make a bright paint, but by mixing the zinc 
with turpentine alone, a flat white is obtained. It dries very quickly, and will 
answer only for inside work. 

mahogany Color. — To make a very pretty, and yet cheap, mahogany 
•colored paint, add a little lampblack to Venetian red and oil. 

To Make a Rose Color. — Carminated lake with the addition of a little 
Chinese vermilion and white lead or zinc, makes a very rich rose color. 

To Make an Ash Color. — An ash or gray color may be made by mix- 
ing white and black, or white with blue and black. 

Colors for Shading. — In shading, white is shaded with black, and con- 
trariwise, yellow with umber and the ochers, vermilion with lake, blue with 
indigo, coal black with roseate, etc. 

To Make Brass Color. — Any good lacquer laid upon tin, gives it the 
appearance of copper or brass, it is said. It is made by coloring lac varnish 
with turmeric, to impart the color of brass to it, and with annatto, to give it the 
<:oior of copper. 

A Cheap Oray Color. — Save all the paint skins and cleanings of paint 
dishes ; put them into a vessel and keep them wet with oil. When enough has 
accumulated, heat up and strain through a cloth. If dark, add light for gray ; 
if light, add dark to please the taste. 

Bronze Oreen. — This may be produced by uniting yellow with black, 
and working the colors together thoroughly. 

Xice Scarlet. — The union of carmine and yellow, but very little of the lat- 
ter is required. 

Deep Blue. — A very little black added to blue will vary its shade to a 
■darker or deeper. 

Brown Color. — The union of carmine, yellow and black, will produce a 
nice brown. Vary the proportions to obtain shade desired. 

Pretty Pink. — Carmine, with white added, makes a beautiful pink. As 
with other pigments, the shade may be varied to please the eye. 

Beep Lilac. — Mix ultramarine with white and add sufficient carmine to 
•obtain the required shade. 

L.aTender Color. — Violet and white mixed and well worked make a 
very pretty lavender color. 



PAINT AND STRIPING BRUSHES. 1 59 

Amber Color. — Add to a pale yellow sufficient carmine to produce the 
desired effect. By care, it can be made very nice. 

Red Brown. — This very popular color, for certain uses, can be produced 
by the combination of burnt umber and a scarlet lake. But little of the latter 
is required. 

Light Brown. — The union of burnt sienna and lake will produce this 
shade, or it may be produced by white, red, and a very little black, well worked 
together. 

Salmon Color is a pinkish yellow, and may be made by combination of 
white burnt sienna and orange chrome. But very little of the latter is required. 



PAINT AND STRIPING BRUSHES. 



Care of Paint Bru§lies. — The utility of a paint brush depends very 
much upon the care it receives. It should never be left standing in the paint 
for any great length of time, nor allowed to get dry before it is washed. If one 
is to be used frequently, it may be kept in good condition by allowing the 
bristles to stand in water or oil, but when the brush is only to be wanted occa- 
sionally, it should be washed clean and put away. 

"Washing Paint Brn§he§. — Where a brush is not to be washed but 
once or twice a year, it may be cleaned with soap. Saturate the brush — after 
getting out all the paint possible — with soft soap, and work the fingers 
through it thoroughly while immersed in warm, soft water. A little spirits of 
turpentine may be used to advantage to start the paint from the interior, and 
after washing, rinse until clean, and draw the brush through the hand to make 
the bristles lie straight, and when nearly dry loosen up the brush to prevent it 
•drying compact. Very small particles of paint will so cement the fibres or 
bristles, as to greatly injure, if not entirely destroy, the brush. It is, therefore, 
important that the work of washing be very thorough. 

Where frequently washed, soda should be used, as hot water and soap 
soften the hairs after a time, and rubbing completes their destruction. Use 
soda dissolved in cold water. Soda, having an affinity for grease, cleans the 
brush with very little friction. After well shaking, stand them on the points 
of the handles in a shady place. 

Keeping Paint Brushes. — After washing thoroughly clean, roll the 
brush up in paper to keep the bristles straight, and when nearly dry, work a 
little in the hand to prevent packing, and then hang up by a string attached to 
the handle. Where brushes are to be so frequently used as not to require 
washing, only as colors are to be changed, those bound with wire should be 
purchased ; cord binding will not stand water well. 



l6o PAINT AND STRIPING BRUSHES. 

Another good way to keep them when not washed is to suspend fchem by the 
handles in a covered can, keeping the points at least half an inch from the 
bottom, and apart from each other. The can should be filled with slow drying 
varnish up to a line about a sixteenth of an inch above the bristles or hair. The 
can should then be kept in a close cupboard, or in a box fitted for the purpose. 

Wiping Paint Brushes. — Wiping a brush on a sharp edge of tin will 
gradually split the bristles, cause them to curl backward, and eventually ruin 
the brush. 

How t«» Bridle a Brush. — To keep a paint brush in good shape, and 
make it wear for a long time, " bridle " it. This is done by covering the upper 



THE BRIDLED BRUSH, 

half with leather and stitching it on, or by winding with a cord, as shown in the 
illustration. The leather should only be drawn tight enough to keep the bristles 
straight. To keep the leather bridle on, have strings run from four sides and 
tie around the handle. As the brush wears up, cut away the leather. 

Selecting Paint Brushes. — In selecting choose those with long fine 
bristles, and unless for painting large surfaces, like outbuildings, get small 
brushes, those a little flattened and not over one and a half inches in diameter. 
It is difficult to do a nice job on fine work with a large round and heavy brush. 

To do good work a good brush is necessary, and one made of Prussian bris- 
tles is best. When selecting, see that the handles are not loose, and that the 
hairs do net come cut. Brushes are liable to burst loose from the bindmg 
when they are bound with cord, unless the cord is well painted. 

Improving New Brushes. — Before using paint brushes they should be 
placed with the hair end up and some good varnish poured down carefully 
against the butt end of the handle, which will spread among the hair, and be- 
come so hard in a few days that the bristles and handle will be so firmly united 
as to prevent the bursting of the brush or shedding of hair. 

Handles of Paint Brushes. — Flat handled brushes are better than 
round, for the reason the brush will be used on two sides only, which is the 
correct way. If a round handle is purchased, it will be an improvement to flat- 
ten it. 

How to Hake a Paint Brush. — Select bristles of uniform length 
and quality. Those are best which grow on the back of large swine ever the 
shoulders; comb them out clean and straight. A common iron ferrule either 
round or oblong, should be in readiness, with a handle after common pattern. 
If the ferrule is round, the handle should be round also. If oblong, the handle 
flat, with rounded edges. Fill the ferrule v/ith the bristles, ihe stiff ends extend- 
ing a little above the ferrule, then part them in the exact center, and put the 



CHEAP PAINTS AND WASHES. l6l 

handle in point first at soft end, as shown in engraving, and drive it up until it 
is solid. The end of the handle should come about even with the lower end of 
the ferrule. If you see the handle is going toe loosely, or too tightly, take it out, 
and remove or add bristles as the case requires. 

When the handle is in solid and true, with a sharp knife cut off the projecting 
bristles around the handle and above the ferrule even. Do not cut quite down 
to the ferrule and leave a little incline from handle to ferrule. Now coat this sur- 
face well with pulverized resin and apply a hot iron. It will melt the resin and 




PUTTING IN A BRUSH HANDLE. 



sear the bristle ends and make them firm. Give the ferrule and top of brush 
two coats of red paint, and a very fair brush for coarse work will be ready for 
use. American bristles are not so good as the Prussian, therefore the home 
made brush will be inferior to imported ones. 

How to Make a Striping 6ria§li. — The best striping brushes are 
made from camel's hair, but a very good substitute can be manufactured from 
the long hairs of the squirrel's tail. In selecting, use only those that are per- 
fectly straight. If inclined to curl or wave they are useless. Get different 
sized quills ; comb out the hairs even, make into bunches and wind a spot near 
roots with fine thread and draw the bunches into the quills from large end to 
small. 

To Clean Striping- Krushes. — To clean striping brushes dip in turpen- 
tine and wipe out with a cotton rag. Repeat the operation so long as color is 
shown. 



CHEAP PAINTS AND WASHES. 



Washes for I>wellings. — I believe as fully as any one in the free use of 
paints, for the beautifying and preservation of buildings, etc., but cannot indorse 
the opinion, which is somewhat prevalent, that there is wisdom or economy in 
the use of cheap materials upon good buildings, especially dwellings. There 
are no preparations so good as the regular oil paints, made in body of Hnseed 
oil, lead and zinc. 

Never use cheap washes, those composed chiefly of lime or whiting, upon 
any valuable building, or one that you at some future time intend to paint with 
good material, for they will leave the surface in a bad condition for properly 
coating. 



l62 CHEAP PAINTS AND WASHES. 

There are many recipes going the rounds of the press which are said to be 
more durable than oil and lead. Many of them may be valuable, but as to any 
preparations made up in body of lime being as durable as oil paint, it is simply 
foolish to talk of it, 

Waslie§ for Barns.— I have tried several of the washes for outdoor work, 
and believe that a liberal use of them upon barns and other outbuildings to be 
paying investments, for they are applied easily and quickly, making no great 
expense, and wonderfully improve the appearance of a home, and so rapidly 
may the wash be put on by any one, that time may be easily given to going 
over the buildings once a year or two, which is necessary to keep them up in a 
good state of appearance. 

Durable IVMtewash. — Add to one peck of white stone lime while it is 
slaking, one pound of tallow, and two quarts of strong rock-salt brine ; thin to 
proper consistency, and apply with a whitewash brush. The tallow repels 
moisture, and the salt hardens the lime. The foregoing I know to be good as 
a wash for outdoor use. This may be made of any color, by adding the com- 
mon pigments. 

Anotlier Formula. — The following is reported to be excellent : Skim 
milk two quarts, fresh lime eight ounces, oil six ounces, white Burgundy pitch 
two ounces, Spanish white three pounds. The lime to be slaked in about one 
fourth of the milk, the oil in which the pitch is to be previously dissolved to 
be added a little at a time ; then the rest of the milk, and afterward the Spanish 
white. 

Glue 'Wasli. — One pound of flour made into common paste, and same 
amount of glue dissolved, added and boiled ; to this add while hot, one and 
one-half pints of linseed oil, and put the whole with twenty-five pounds of whit- 
ing which has been soaked up to proper consistency in water. This is spread 
the same as common whitewash, but should be a little thicker. 

I>ural>Ie Color 'Wa§li. — Take one part fine sand, two parts wood ashes, 
three parts slaked lime ; sift through a fine sieve or screen ; mix well, then stir 
with linseed oil to the consistency of paint ; add a little lampblack to darken the 
color, if wanted. This, for outbuildings, fences, etc., is one of the most dura- 
ble, as well as the cheapest paints there is. It is also fire proof in all ordinary 
occasions ; is equally good on wood or brick. Apply as other paints are applied, 
first light, second heavy. 

ffiSranard's Paint. — Dissolve ten pounds of shellac in ten gallans cf boil- 
ing water, adding thirty ounces of saleratus. Mix the solution with an equal 
quantity of paint prepared in the usual manner. The paint is economical and 
durable. 

Cheap R.esin Paint. — The Scientific American gives the following: 
Three hundred parts washed and sieved white sand, forty parts of precipitated 
chalk, fifty parts of resin, and four parts of Unseed oil are mixed and boiled in 



CHEAP PAINTS AND WASHES. 163 

an iron kettle, and then one part of oxide of copper and one part of sulphuric 
acid are added. This mass is applied with an ordinary paint brush while warm. 
If it is too thick, it is diluted with linseed oil. This paint dries very rapidly 
and gets very hard, but protects woodwork excellently. 

Wasli for Brick. — Rosendale cement, three parts, and of fine, clean, 
sharp sand, one part. Mix thoroughly with clear, fresh water. This will give 
a granite color, dark or light, according to the color of the cement. If a brick 
color is desired, add Venetian red to the mixture ; or if a very light color is 
needed, lime may be used with the cement and sand. The walls should be 
made damp to prevent the brick from absorbing the wash too rapidly. The sub- 
stance must be stirred frequently during the application and applied with a 
brush. 

Yellow Wash for Buildings. — The Manual of the U. S. Army recom- 
mends one pound of copperas in eight gallons of water ; let it stand twenty-four 
hours, stirring it two or three times from the bottom ; use this for slaking the 
lime and thinning it to the consistency of ordinary whitewash. Add hydraulic 
cement equal in quantity to the lime used, and of clean sand, half a gallon to 
fifteen gallons of wash. Stir it frequently to prevent the sand from settling. 

The walls should be first well cleaned of dust, and thoroughly wet from the 
nose of a watering pot, and the wash applied (in the usual way) immediately 
after, beginning at the top, laying on the coat horizontally and finishing it ver- 
tically. 

Before leaving the work at any time, finish the course to a joint in the wall, 
to prevent making a mark in the color where the two courses join. 

Water Ijime IVasli. — Mix water lime with milk in small quantities, and 
apply three or four coats ; any dry color may be added. By renewing once in 
two or three years, a building will look very well. To put this on, the wash 
should be stirred constantly, as the finer parts will soon be all used out, and at 
last you will have nothing but sand. Have a boy to stir all the time and mix 
often. 

A Hard Whitewash.— Take a clean, water tight cask, and put into it 
half a bushel of lime. Slake it by pouring water over it boiling hot, and in 
sufficient quantity to cover it five mches deep, and stir it briskly until thoroughly 
slaked. When the lime has been slaked, dissolve in water, and add two 
pounds of sulphate of zinc and one of common salt. These will cause the wash 
tc harden, and prevent its cracking, which gives an unseemly appearance to 
th 3 work. 

Waterproof Tar Paint. — A writer says that a cheap and useful paint 
for roofs, walls, fences, outside plastering, etc., may be made by using tar, made 
thin by spirits of turpentine. Let this be used instead of linseed oil, and to form 
the body, add fine earthy matter, such as dried clay. For the coarsest kind of 
work, dry, fine sandy loam may be added as a body. Any of these earthy 



l64 CHEAP PAINTS 'and WASHES. 

bodies, when made sufficiently fine, can be used to good purpose in painting 
either with the tar mixture or oil. 

How to Color a 'Wa§li. — Any whitewash, that is, any wash that is 
white, may be tinted as desired. A cream color may be given to the wash by 
adding yellow ocher ; or a good pearl or lead color by the addition of lamp- 
black. For fawn color, add umber, Indian red and common lampblack. Fo»- 
stone color, add- raw umber apd lampblack. A pretty peachblow or pink 
shade may be obtained by adding a little red lead. When washing a build- 
ing border with a shade darker, when apphed to the outside of houses and 
fences, it is rendered more durable by adding about a pint of sweet milk to a 
gallon of the wash. 

Cheap Inside Paint. — Milk may be used for inside painting, where 
cheapness is an object, or the house has to be painted while occupied by per- 
sons who cannot bear the smell of oil. Take dry lead of any color that is de- 
sired, mix with milk, grind, and apply ; this will look nearly as well as if painted 
with oil, and a coat of varnish will make it durable. Whiting, or Spanish white 
and milk, for ceiling, or milk and lime, make a whitewash that will not rub off. 

Lead and Cement Paint. — Mackenzie's tnethod of making a cheap 
and durable wash for outdoor use, is to take two parts in bulk of water lime 
ground fine and one part of ground white lead. Mix thoroughly in boiled lin- 
seed oil, and then grind all together, either in a paint mill or through a cloth ; 
temper with oil, until it can be spread with a paint brush. It may be made 
any color. It is said to be very durable, and the ingredients would indicate it 
to be so. 

Brilliant Rice Wash. — Unslaked lime, one peck ; slake with hot water ; 
strain and add a quart of rock salt well dissolved, and a pound of rice well 
cooked and rubbed to a paste. At the same time stir in half a pound of Spanish 
whiting and half a pound of dissolved glue. This wash should stand a few 
days after making, and when used, be heated up, well stirred, and applied 
to the wall hot. It may be used indoors or out. 

Oerinan Hard Finish. — The following is the German mode for coating 
wood with a substance as hard as stone : Forty parts chalk, fifty of resin, and 
four of linseed oil melted together ; to this add one part oxide of copper, and 
afterward one part of sulphuric acid — the last should be added with care. Ap- 
ply with a brush while hot. 

Wash that IVon't Rub Off. — The following is recommended . Mix up 
half a pailful of lime and water ; take half a pint of flour and make a starch of 
it, and pour it into the whitewash while hot. Stir it well and make it ready for 
use. It is said also, that the addition of a little molasses or melted sugar will 
make the wash still firmer. 

Durable Brown Wash. — A cheap coating for wood, which is very ad- 
herent, even when exposed to the weather, consists in simply brushing the 



CHEAP PAINTS AND WASHES. 165 

surface with a solution of persulphate of iron of two to two and a half degrees 
Baume. The blue gray tint which this acquires on drying changes to an agree- 
able brown when linseed oil varnish is applied. 

Coating for 8tone. — An English writer says : To render stone and brick 
walls waterproof, coat them to saturation with a solution of silicate of soda, 
which is superficially decomposed by the further application of chloride of cal- 
cium. The surface thus obtained consists of silicate of lime, which is perfectly 
insoluble, while it does not alter the appearance of the wall. The experiment 
is certainly worth trying, as it is a matter of great importance. 

iSour Milk Wa§h. — Good lime, slaked with sour milk, and diluted with 
water till it is of about the consistency of ordinary whitewash, is recommended 
by the Landwirth as an excellent coating for woodwork. Fences, rafters, par- 
titions, etc., are, it says, effectually protected against the weather for at least ten 
years by this application. The caseine of the milk in combination with the lime 
forms a permanent film, which dries sa quickly in warm weather that heavy 
rains falling directly after it has been laid on will scarcely affect the work. 

Soap Paint for IVood. — For a cheap paint for outbuildings, a farmer 
says, put two gallons of soft, warm water m a vessel holding at least six gallons. 
Mix thoroughly one gallon of soft soap with the water. Then put in one gallon 
of raw linseed oil, and mix; lastly, twenty-five to twenty-eight pounds of 
" mineral paint." 

White Vitriol Vra§]i. — A good and cheap wash for outside work may be 
made by slaking one peck of stone lime, and adding two quarts of sweet milk, 
half a pound of common salt, and four ounces of white vitriol. The salt and 
vitriol should be dissolved before they are put in. Thin with water to a proper 
consistency. Any color or shade of color desired may be given by use of the 
common pigments. 

Wa§li to Stand Fire. — Woodwork is protected from fire by being 
painted with a mixture consisting of five parts of alum, seven parts of rye meal 
paste, and thirty parts of previously washed, /. e., finely divided clay — this mix- 
ture is used for woodwork not exposed to the open air — for woodwork, so 
exposed, a mixture is used consisting of two and a half parts of crystallized sal 
ammoniac, one part of white vitriol (commercial sulphate of zinc), two parts of 
joiners' glue, twenty parts of zinc white, and thirty parts of water. These mix- 
tures have been found to prevent wood bursting into flame on ignition, and to 
greatly delay its destruction even when severe fires are raging. 

Compound Mineral Wasli. — Make a very thin wash of a peck of lime, 
then add twenty-five pounds mineral paint, twenty-five pounds whiting, twenty- 
five pounds road dust, finely sifted. Mix a thick paste with linseed oil, and thin 
gradually to the proper consistence with sweet buttermilk, fresh from the churn. 
The covering quality is improved by the addition of half a gallon of soft soap. 

Copperas l¥ater Wa§Il. — Dissolve two ounces of well powdered cop- 



l66 WHITEWASHING AND CALCIMINING. 

peras in a gallon of hot water, let it stand a few days, stirring occasionally, then 
slake stone lime with this, and add to the wash as much water lime as there is 
of the stone lime, and put in a pint or so of fine sand. This should be well 
stirred up while being applied. It will be of a yellowish shade, but may be 
made stone color by adding a little umber or lampblack, deadened by wetting 
with whisky. 

Flax Seed Wash. — Boil for two hours half a pound of flax seed in a pail 
of water, then strain it into a larger vessel, and put in two quarts common land 
plaster, same amount of well sifted wood ashes, a teacupful of wheat flour,, 
and a teacupful of salt, previously dissolved. Let the wash stand several days, 
and stir frequently. 

Mixing' in Colors. — A correspondent says : Owing to the greasy nature 
of lampblack, it will not readily mix with the lime wash, but floats on the sur- 
face, whence, taken up by the brush, it causes black streaks when applied. To 
prevent this, proceed as follows : Slake freshly burned lime with just water 
enough to cause it to fall into dry powder. In this powder stir lampblack until 
the mass becomes of a uniformly light gray color. Then add boiling water» 
constantly stirring, until of the proper consistence ; then add yellow ocher and 
Spanish brown, the former in much the larger quantity. 

1 need hardly say that all color washes dry much lighter. To prevent the 
wash from rubbing off, dissolve a teacupful of alum in boiling water, which add 
to a bucket of wash. To preserve uniformity of tint, the wash should be 
frequently stirred when used. 



WHITEWASHING AND CALCIMINING. 



Importance of Wliitewash. — No labor connected with such small 
expense will beautify a home and make it so clean and sweet as whitewashing. 
Poverty can never be assigned as a true reason for not keeping the walls of 
rooms white, and the atmosphere sweet, when lime enough to purify a whole 
house can be obtained for a few pennies. While whitewashing is an easy work 
to perform, it is a fact that more rooms are purified than beautified by it. A 
few hmts will aid the reader in the work. 

How to Apply the IVash. — There is a greater defect in the applica- 
tion of the wash than there is in preparing it for use. Commence washing in 
the corner of the room ; wet about six feet square of the wall ; apply the brush 
next to the side wall and sweep out ; never brush both ways when smoothing 
up ; then extend the strip about six feet further out, apply the brush to the end 
of the strip and sweep on to the first place washed, and let the brush gradually 
recede from the wall ; never stop short and remove the brush. 



WHITEWASHING AND CALCIMINING. 167 

Continue the strip across the room, always setting the brush when finishing 
up at the end, and sweeping on to that washed before. Continue as the first, 
until the coat is complete. It is just as essential that the first coating be put 
on even and without streaks as the last, for all marks left by the brush the first 
time will show as plainly, or nearly so, as if no more had been added. 

When perfectly dry, apply the second coat, but in strips of different widths 
from the first, so that stripes may not show. If three or more coats are to be 
put on, cross the stripes each time, i. e., if you wash north and south the first 
coat, go east and west the second, and the third as at first. 

To prevent dropping the wash from the brush upon the floor, wet only one 
side of the brush at a time and carry it to the wall wet side up. 

Preparing Common ^WMtewasIi. — Procure white unslaked lime ; 
slake with warm water, by pouring on gradually enough to keep the lime from 
burning, but not enough to drown it. After it is thoroughly slaked, reduce it 
to a thin wash so that it is not pasty. If put on too thick it does not penetrate, 
and after a few coats have been appHed it will begin to flake off. If the wall is 
very rough, mix salt and ashes with the first coat ; if smooth, salt only is re- 
quired. A very little bluing should be put into the last coat to make it a clear 
white. 

Another Formula. — For a good whitewash, mix some fresh slaked lime 
with water till it is of the consistency of cream ; dissolve a small lump of 
copperas in warm water ; when cold, mix with the lime water. Lay it on the 
walls with a large brush, taking care to stir up the mixture every time the brush 
is dipped into it. 

Whitewasliing Smofeed WalBs. — To prevent the smoke from an old 
kitchen wall striking through and turning the whitewash yellow, put ten cents' 
worth of white vitriol — pulverized — in two quarts of cold water ; wash the walls 
with a common whitewash brush dipped in this solution. Let it dry overnight, 
then apply the following whitewash : Put in a pail the contents of a twenty cent 
package of white rock lime. Fill the pail with hot water, cover and let steam, 
stirring occasionally until dissolved. Add to this five cents' worth of painters' 
blue. This can be applied with an ordinary whitewash brush. It does not rub 
off, and rivals in whiteness the finest calcimining. Three rooms, twenty-four 
by sixteen, can be whitened with one twenty cent package. 

Paris Wliitewa§Ii. — Soak one-fourth of a pound of glue overnight, in 
tepid water. The next day put it into a tin vessel with a quart of water, set the 
vessel in a kettle of water over the fire, keep it there till it boils, and then stir 
until the glue is dissolved. Next, put from six to eight pounds of Paris white 
into another vessel, add hot water and stir until it has the appearance of milk of 
lime. Add the sizing, stir well, and apply in the ordinary way while still warm. 

How to Calcimine. — Calcimining is not much more difficult or ex- 
pensive than whitewashing. People have generally a different idea, and believe 



l68 VARNISH AND VARNISHING. 

the work can only be done by professionals. The preparation is about the same 
as "Paris whitewash," with the addition of coloring material. 

To MaRe the l¥a.§li. — Soak the glue overnight, in a tin vessel contain- 
ing about a quart of warm water. If the calcimine is to be applied the next 
day, add a pint more of clear water to the glue, and set the vessel contaming 
the glue into a kettle of boiling water over the fire, and contmue to stir the glue 
until it is well dissolved and quite thin. If the glue pail be placed in a kettle 
of boiling water, the glue will not be scorched. Then, after putting the Paris 
white into a large water pail, pour on hot water, and stir until the hquid ap- 
pears like thick milk. Now mingle the glue liquid with the whiting, also the 
coloring material, and stir thoroughly. Ultramarine makes the best blue. It 
can be applied with a whitewash, or paint brush, as the surface to be covered 
demands. Spread thin. A thick coat will be likely to crack. 

Quantity of Wasli. — For a room fifteen by eighteen feet, two coats, 
take four ounces of good glue and five pounds of plaster Paris, which costs but 
a few cents per pound. It may be obtained at a paint or drug store. Use hot 
water to thin the wash, if it does not spread easily. 



VARNISH AND VARNISHING. 



Buying* and Using Varnish. — Do not buy poor material, for it will 
soon, turn to a milky color, which can never be removed. Buy the best turpen- 
tine coach varnish ; thin it with spirits of turpentine until it can be spread easily 
with a brush ; spread it on light enough so that it will not puddle, and finish up 
as you go along ; never try to smooth up after the varnish has begun to set, 
which will be in a few seconds after spreading it. 

Tarnishing Furniture. — Any one can varnish furniture and do it nicely 
after a little practice, and a few shillings expended in material will add dollars 
to the appearance of a room. No better investment ran be made than to var- 
nish the entire painted woodwork of a room, it will look so much brighter, 
wear so much longer, and be kept clean so much easier, that after once making 
a free use of varnish you could not be hired to do without it. 

Preparing to Varnish. — Before varnishing furniture or paint, wipe the 
surface perfectly clean with a moist cloth, and then let it dry. Any places 
which may have become greasy from handling or otherwise, should be cleaned 
by using a weak solution of saleratus in water. 

To wash any kind of paint, staining or mahogany that has been varnished, 
for redressing, use as little soap as possible. Take warm soft water, put in 
just enough hard soap to make a very weak suds, begin at the top and wash 



VARNISH AND VARNISHING. 169 

down, and do not wet but a small place before wiping dry with a clean cloth. 
If there are white spots on the varnish, they can generally be removed by rub- 
bing them with a woolen cloth saturated with a little common coal oil. 

IVliere to Varnish. — Do the work in a warm room, where the atmos- 
phere is dry. In a damp atmosphere the varnish will be very likely to take on 
a milky appearance. Even on a fine summer day this may happen, and the 
only way to obviate the difficulty is to heat to seventy-tv/o degrees, sufficient to 
keep the moisture suspended in the air until the solvent has entirely evaporated, 
leaving the gums in a thin glossy coat ; the brilliancy and defensive value of the 
varnish will depend upon this. To produce a brilliant surface, prepare the 
work by washing, if necessary, and drying ; leave it in the varnishing room 
until the wood is of the same temperature of the room, then apply as above 
directed. 

After Tarnishing-. — After the work is completed, do not touch the var- 
nish with your hands, or allow damp air or dust to blow upon it until perfectly 
dry. Varnish is not dry until its surface is sufficiently tough to resist insects, 
dust in currents of air, and is soHd to the touch. Don't touch your work 
with sweaty hands. 

Varnish Brushes. — I prefer for domestic use a small, flat brush, one not 
more than an inch and a half or two inches wide. With a wide brush one 
unaccustomed to its use is very likely to hit a varnished section while dressing 
a new place. Never try to use a small, round brush ; it cannot be drawn truly 
over the work, and is too stiff. After finishing a job wipe out the brush as 
much as possible, wet in alcohol, and wipe until dry, and lay away in a clean 
place. Washing in turpentine is just about as foolish an operation as any 
painter can be guilty of ; the turpentine will remove all varnish, but it will also 
stiffen the bristles, and a few washings will destroy the best brush ever made. 

Varnish Cup. — If but a little varnish is to be used, a teacup is large 
enough for a varnish dish, and is easily cleaned. In any event the cups should 
be small, the largest not holding over a pint ; these clean every time after var- 
nishing ; in no instance allow varnish to stand in them ten minutes after having 
varnished the job. If there be any varnish left in the cup, never return to the 
can, for no matter how careful the varnisher may be, there will be some 
particles of dust collect in the varnish, either from the air or the brush, most 
generally the latter. Begin with no more varnish in dish than is expected to do 
the work, so as to prevent wasting. It is better to refill the dish than to have 
a surplus to be thrown away. 

Crawling Varnish. — Not unfrequently, especially in cold weather, trouble 
will arise from varnish crawling. The peculiar action comes after the first coat, 
and is owing to the gloss on the coat beneath it. Just as soon as the gloss is 
removed the material finds footing, and no more trouble is experienced. Crawl- 
ing may be easily prevented by washing the under coat with water, and wiping 



170 VARNISH AND VARNISHING. 

with wash leather, as this will destroy the brilliancy of the gloss, and, in many 
cases, the mere dusting with a stiff duster will be found sufficient. As further 
preventive means, don't keep your varnish in a damp or cold place, or apply a 
cold varnish on a warm job, or a warm varnish on a cold one. 

Variiislim^ Leaves. — Have a soft brush, and as you dip it in the varnish 
be careful to take up but little, and press off all that would drop off on the side 
of your vial or cup. Have plenty of newspapers spread upon your table, and 
a towel at hand. Cover each leaf upon the right side with a coating of the 
varnish. 

The leaves that you intend to paste into a herbarium, or upon cardboard for 
pictures, will need but one coat of varnish upon the right side ; then you can 
lay them away upon the newspapers to dry. Be careful that, when drying,, 
each leaf lies single ; for if two leaves lap, they will stick so tightly together 
that you cannot separate them without breaking them. 

Then take your larger leaves, and your boughs or bunches of leaves, and var- 
nish and dry them in the same manner ; and when, after a week, they are per- 
fectly dry, give them an additional coat of varnish, dry them once more and 
afterward take any boughs and leaves that you design to use in vases, and give 
them one coat of varnish upon the wrong side of the leaf, to prevent their curl- 
ing at the edges. If glued to paper or to a wall, they will not need it. 

Precautions in Varnishing^ L.eaves. — Repeated varnishing is not 
necessary ; still it tends to keep the leaves from curling, and makes them more 
glossy. A large paper box is the best thing to keep them in after they are all 
varnished and thoroughly dried. Ladies will find it very desirable to use 
an old pair of kid gloves when varnishing ; for although you can remove the 
varnish from your hands with grease, hot water, soap, and a vigorous rubbing 
with a piece of pumice stone, yet it will save you much trouble not to get it 
on. You need newspapers to cover and protect your table, or tablecloth, both 
when varnishing and pasting and pressing, for it is all untidy work if it is not 
done with care. 

Varnisli for Maps. — A good varnish for mechanical and architectural 
drawing, maps, etc., is obtained by dissolving in one quart of alcohol, one-fourth 
pound of white shellac, one ounce of camphor, and half an ounce of balsam fir 
This varnish dries rapidly. 

Anotlier Formula. — A good varnish for maps is made of one ounce 
Canada balsam and two ounces spirits of turpentine. This is laid on with a 
soft brush over a thin coating of isinglass previously dried. 

To Hake Copal Varnish.^To make this varnish, take one pound 
copal gum. three fourths pound resin ; put into one quart of linseed oil and dis- 
solve over a slow fire; boil fifteen m'.iutes, then add two ounces of sugar of 
lead, and boil fifteen minutes longer, slowly. Reduce to proper consistency 
with spirits of turpentine. 



VARNISH AND VARNISHING. I7I 

Another Formula. — Dissolve one part, by weight, of camphor in twelve 
parts of ether. When the camphor is dissolved, four parts of the best copal 
resin, previously reduced to an impalpable powder, are added to the ethereal 
camphor solution and placed in a well stoppered bottle. As soon as the 
copal appears to be partly dissolved, and has become swollen, four parts of 
strong alcohol or methylated spirits, and one fourth part of oil of turpentine are 
added, and after shaking the mixture and letting it stand for a few hours 
longer, the varnish is obtained. 

To Make Tar Varnislies. — These are especially adapted to the preser- 
vation of iron, and are made in several ways. One consists in melting pitch in 
an iron vessel, and when cold, but still fluid, mixing intimately with it heavy tar 
oil. This varnish will dry in two days. A more quickly drying varnish is made 
by using tar oil, of a higher boiling point. Fine castings may be varnished with 
a mixture of similar character, but in which naphtha is substituted for tar oil. 
This will dry in half an hour. 

Blaek Varnish for Shoes. — Dissolve ten parts by weight of shellac and 
five of turpentine in forty of strong alcohol, m which fluid should be previously 
dissolved one part of extract of logwood with some neutral chromate of potassa 
and sulphate of indigo. The varnish is to be kept in well stoppered bottles. 

Varnish for Violins. — Put to one half gallon rectified alcohol, six ounces 
gum mastic and one-half pint turpentine varnish. Put in a tin case, and keep 
in a very warm place, shaking often till dissolved. Strain and keep for use. If 
too thick, add turpentine varnish. 

Another Formula. — The recipe for violin varnish as used by Germaa 
violin makers is four parts sandarac rosin, two parts shellac, one part mastic^ 
two parts benzoes resin, two parts Venetian turpentine, and thirty-two parts of 
alcohol. The solid ingredients are first dissolved in the alcohol and the Vene- 
tian turpentine added afterward, and finally the whole carefully filtered to get 
rid of all dust. Brushes to be kept scrupulously clean. 

Varnish for Boilers. — Some of the machine men say that, the best var- 
nish for the preservation of portable boilers, liable to rust through exposure to 
outdoor influences, is asphaltum. This substance readily dissolves in turpen- 
tine, which forms a good vehicle for its application. 

Varnish for Trunks, etc. — Put half a pound of gum shellac, broken, 
up into small pieces, in a quart bottle or jug, cover it with alcohol, cork it tight, 
and put it on a shelf in a warm place, shake it well several times a day, then 
add a piece of camphor as large as a hen's egg, shake it again, and add one 
ounce of lampblack. 

If the alcohol is good, it will be all dissolved in three days ; then shake and 
use. If it gets too thick, add alcohol, pour out two or three teaspoonfuls in a 
saucer, and apply it with a small paint brush. If the materials are all good, it 
will dry in about five minutes, and will be removed only by wearing it off. 



172 VARNISH AND VARNISHING. 

giving a gloss almost equal to patent leather. This may be used for shoes, 
as it does not soil when touched. It does not harden leather, but resists water 
and wears well. 

A Cheap Common Varnisli. — Take of the best raw linseed oil one 
quart and boil it an hour ; then add half a pound of light colored resin, finely 
powdered, stirring it thoroughly until dissolved ; then take it from the fire, and 
add one-fourth of a pint spirits of turpentme. It should be strained before 
using and kept from the air, and care should be used in making it, to prevent 
its taking fire. 

Fine Varnisli for Wood. — The beautiful varnish applied to clock cases, 
wooden picture frames and other cheap objects, is in appearance equal to the 
elaborate finish of the finest furniture, such as pianos, etc. It is made by mix- 
ing two pounds of copal varnish with half an ounce of linseed oil varnish. The 
mixture is shaken often to mix it well, and is then placed on a warm spot. The 
wood to be varnished is prepared with a thin coat of glue water, dried slowly, 
and rubbed down with fine pumice stone or something equivalent. 

In light colored wood, a light pigment, such as chalk, is added to the glue 
water; in dark wood, an equally dark pigment is added. When ready, the 
articles are varnished with the above mixture, and, after drying, rubbed with a 
:Solution of wax in ether, thereby acquiring a high polish. 

Cheap Varnish for Farm Wagons. — Take of raw linseed oil, sixty 
parts by weight ; litharge, two parts : white vitriol, one part ; boil over a slow 
iire until evaporation ceases ; or, boil any quantity of linseed oil for an hour, and 
to every pound of oil add four ounces of clean resin, powdered ; stir it until the 
resin is dissolved, and then add one ounce of turpentine for every pound of oil ; 
strain it, and when cool it will be fit for use. 

Varnishing^ Water Pails. — If a common wooden pail receives three 
•coats of common copal varnish on the inside before being used, it will never 
become water soaked, nor will it give any disagreeable flavor to water that may 
be allowed to stand in it for any length of time. 

To Remedy Spong^y Varnish. — By the evaporation of the alcohol and 
the absorption of water, alcoholic varnish often becomes spongy and dull. It is 
said, that gelatine in narrov/ strips, put into the varnish, will prevent this. The 
_gelatine will rapidly absorb the water in the varnish. 

Varnish for Roug^h Work. — Any of the ochers or lead, mixed with 
coal tar, and thinned with turpentine, make an excellent varnish for rough work, 
.and are also a great preserver of wood from damp. Japan will hasten its 
•drying. 

Imitation Shellae Varnish. — The following imitation shellac varnish 
is used by many furniture manufacturers : Gum sandarac, one and one-half 
pound ; pale resin, one and one-half pounds ; benzine, two gallons. Dissolve by 
a crentle heat. 



VARNISH AND VARNISHING. I75 

Black Varni§h for Handles. — To make a jet black varnish for small 
wood handles, that will make them smooth and shining, and hard and solid, so 
that they will not get dim by handling or lose their gloss, take of asphaltum 
three ounces ; boiled oil, four quarts ; burnt umber, eight ounces ; and enough 
oil of turpentine to thin. The three first must be mixed by the aid of heat, and 
the turpentine gradually added — out of doors and away from fire — before the 
mixture has cooled. The work — dry — is given several coats, each being hard- 
ened in a japanner's oven. The last coat may be rubbed down, first, with 
tripoli applied on a soft cloth, then with a few drops of oil. 

Tarni§li for Olass. — A thin solution of gelatine applied to a plate of glass, 
which is supported horizontally until dry, makes a good surface for pen and ink 
drawings for transparencies. 

Another Formula. — Terquem prepares a varnish for glass on which 
drawings can be made, either with India ink or with ordinary ink. Four parts 
of gum mastic and eight parts sandarac are placed in a well closed bottle with- 
eight parts of ninety-five per cent, alcohol, and warmed on a water bath, then 
filtered. When used, the glass is heated to 122° to 140°, and the varnish flowed 
over it. After the drawing is done, it is flowed with a weak solution of gum. 
The varnish is very hard, and on warm glass it is brilliant and transparent ; but 
when cold it is opaque, and absorbs the ink. It can be employed for putting 
labels on glass bottles, etc. 

Polishing' Varnish. — Grind pumice stone to an impalpable powder, 
moisten a piece of serge with water, and sprinkle on a little of the powder, and 
lightly rub the surface of the varnish, after which the surface can be polished 
with fine tripoli and olive oil, applied with a clean woolen cloth. Clean the 
surface with a soft linen cloth, dust on a little Spanish white, and rub with the 
palm of the hand. 

French Varnish for Hard Wood. — To one pint of alcohol add one- 
fourth ounce each gum copal, sandarac, and shellac. Let the gums be well 
bruised and sifted through a piece of muslin. Put the spirits and the gums 
together in a vessel that can be closely corked ; place them near a warm stove, 
and frequently shake them. In two or three days they will be dissolved ; strain 
the mixture through a piece of muslin, and keep it tight corked for use. 

Another Formula. — Scott uses the following : Coal tar, six quarts ; 
black varnish, three quarts ; wood tar oil, two quarts ; Japanese glue, one 
quart ; red lead, seven pounds ; Portland cement, three and a half pounds ; 
arsenic, three and a half pounds. This is only suitable for coarse colored 
work. 

Light Iron Varnish. — Sterling prepares a varnish to protect iron from 
rust by dissolving gum copal in paraffine oil place the iron in it, and heat it 
under increased pressure. Iron vessels, tinned inside, which can be hermetically 
sealed, are heated by superheated steam. 



174 VARNISH AND VARNISHING. 

Cheap Oak Varnish. — Clear, pale resin, three and a half pounds, dis- 
solved in one gallon of turpentine. 

Transparent Crreen Varnish.— Grind a small quantity of a peculiar 
pigment called " Chinese blue," along with about double the quantity of finely 
powdered chromate of potash and a sufficient quantity of copal varnish thinned 
with turpentine. The mixture requires the most elaborate grinding or incorpo- 
rating of its ingredients, otherwise it will not be transparent, and therefore use- 
less for the purpose for which it is intended. 

The color may be varied by an alteration in the proportion of the ingredients : 
A preponderance of chromate of potash causes a yellowish shade in the green, 
as might have been expected, and vice versa with the blue under the same cir- 
cumstances. This colored varnish will produce a very striking effect in ja- 
panned goods, paper hanging, etc., and can be made very cheap. 

Blaek Varnish for Iron. — A black varnish for iron that will not crack 
or peel off, is made by adding strong sulphuric acid, drop by drop, to the oil of 
turpentine, until a sirupy precipitate is formed ; wash the whole with clear 
water until no trace of the acid can be detected in the water, and strain off all 
the water through a cloth filter. 

The precipitate left on the cloth may be used as it is, or a little oil of turpen- 
tine may be added to reduce it, in order to cause it to work easier. Immedi- 
ately after the iron has been painted it must be placed in an oven and dried by 
a gentle heat. After cooling, the paint should be rubbed with a woolen cloth 
dipped in linseed oil. 

This varnish is claimed to differ from all others in use for iron, as it becomes 
chemically combined with the metal, and does not wear or crack off like paint. 

Varnish for Chromos. — Take Canada balsam two ounces, or spirits of 
turpentine ; mix. Before this composition is appHed, the drawing or print 
should be sized with a solution of isinglass in water. When dry apply the var- 
nish with a camel's hair brush. A piece of isinglass three inches square, dis- 
solved in three or four tablespoonfuls of warm water, is about right. 

Try the process on some picture of no consequence, for the isinglass must be 
strong enough to prevent the varnish from affecting the paper. Pretty colored 
lithographs may be treated in this manner with a very pleasing effect, particu- 
larly landscapes, and if framed, need no glass, which detracts so much from 
everything except engravings. 

When expensive chromos have become soiled, carefully wash them and they 
will look as fresh as new, after receiving one or two coats of this varnish (with- 
out the size of course). If the chromo has become defaced, retouch it with 
artist's colors. 

Varnish for Machinery. — Coal tar has come into general use for coat- 
ing common iron work black, but for nice machinery a varnish is desired to 
give a neat and finished look. The following is said to be very superior for 



VARNISH AND VARNISHING. I75 

this purpose : Take eight pounds of asphaltum and fuse it in an iron kettle, 
then add five gallons of boiled linseed oil, one pound of litharge, one-half pound 
of sulphate of zinc — add these slowly, or it will fume over — and boil them for 
three hours. Now add one and one-half pounds of dark umber and boil for 
three hours longer, or until the mass becomes quite thick, when cool, after 
which it should be thinned with turpentine to proper consistency. 

Chinese Varnish. — There is a kind of varnish called Schio-lias, which is 
used by the Chinese for varnishing all kinds of wooden articles, and thus mak- 
ing them water-tight. Even baskets of straw used for the transport of oil, are 
by means of this varnish made perfectly fit for the purpose. Pasteboard thus 
varnished becomes in appearance and firmness like wood. 

It is made by mixing together three parts of fresh, beaten defibrinated blood, 
four parts of slaked lime and some alum. A thin, sticky mass is thus ob- 
tained, which is immediately ready for use. The Chinese give two coats, or 
at most three to those articles they wish to make perfectly waterproof. 

Transparent Japan Varnish. — Oil turpentine eight ounces, oil lav- 
ender six ounces, camphor one dram, bruised copal two ounces. 

Varnish for Pictures. — Take of mastic twelve ounces, pure turpentine 
two ounces and four drams, camphor thirty grains, pounded glass four 
ounces, oil of turpentine three and a half pints. Let the mastic dissolve with 
frequent agitation, then, after settling for some hours, pour off the clear part 
for use. 

Another Formula. — It is said that a very nice transparent varnish for 
pictures may be made by taking the white of an &gg, half an ounce of loaf 
sugar, and beatmg them up in lime water to a proper consistency for spreading. 

Varnish for Oil Painting^s. — Take mastic six ounces, pure turpentine 
one-half ounce, camphor two drams, spirits of turpentine nineteen ounces; 
add first the camphor to the turpentine. The mixture is made in a water bath ; 
when the solution is affected, add the mastic and the spirits of turpentine near 
the end of the operation, and filter through a common cloth. 

Another Formula. — Take some clean parchment cuttings, boil them in 
water in a clean glazed crock till they produce a very clear size, strain it and 
keep it for use. Give your work two coats of the above size, passing quickly 
over the work, not to disturb the colors ; when dry, proceed as before directed 
with your varnish. 

Solvent for Shellac. — Dr. Walz gives the following method for obtain- 
ing a neutral solution of shellac in water : The shellac is broken up and cov- 
ered with a concentrated solution of carbonate of ammonia, and boiled upon 
the water bath until the ammoniacal smell has disappeared. 

More of the solution is added, and the boiling is continued until the shellac 
forms a coherent, sponge-like mass ; the carbonate of ammonia is then expelled 
by further boiling, and the ma^s will readily dissolve by pouring boiling water 



176 PUTTY AND PUTTYING. 

upon it. A kind of soap will be found floating on the surface, wliich may readily 
be removed by straining. 

The solution, spread on paper, cloth, etc., dries rapidly and leaves a thin, 
lustrous and adherent film of shellac behind. 



PUTTY AND PUTTYING. 



ISpanisli Wliiting Putty. — " Putty makes good joints," is an old 
saying, but not always true. It is affected by the expansion of both wood and 
iron. Heat expands iron, and a nail or screw head will lift putty out of place, 
and moisture so expands wood as to injure the appearance of a smooth finish. 

The use of putty being absolutely indispensable, pains should be taken to use 
nothing but the best. Some parties depend upon buying what they want, get- 
ting it at a lower figure than they could make it, but it is a much poorer article 
than should be used on important work. Commonly, the commercial putty is 
made of Spanish whiting and linseed oil, but lead is much better. 

How to j^ake Lead Putty. — An old painter gives the following, which 
he claims will never shrink or swell after it becomes dry. " Take a quantity of 
thebest dry lead and mash it up fine on the paint stone, lay aside about one- 
half of the dry lead and mix the remaining half with enough brown japan to 
make a soft mass, then roll and work enough of the dry lead to bring it up to 
the required thickness, and afterward pound it with a heavy broad faced ham- 
mer until every lump has disappeared and the putty becomes soft and pliable. 
There is no danger of pounding it too much. 

"After it is well pounded, procure a tub of soft water, and holding the putty in 
the hands, knead it in the water from ten to fifteen minutes, and afterward work 
it out of the water for a few minutes, and a superior quality of putty will be 
produced." 

To Color Putty. — If putty is to be colored, the coloring matter should 
be moistend in oil before mixing with the putty ; it should then be well kneaded 
in order to become thoroughly incorporated. 

Filling- Nail IIole§. — The reason that nail holes, after being filled with 
putty, become unsightly by the putty lifting up, is because the grains of the 
wood are crushed down, and when the wood gets dampened, the grains swell 
partially back to place, and lift the putty. To remedy this, wet the wood 
around the nail head after it has been punched in ; this will cause the broken 
fibers of wood to expand, and make all detached portions assume their former 
position. After the wood becomes dry, sand paper off and paint at least twa 
coats before puttying. 



PUTTY AND PUTTYING. 177 

Puttying Up Cracks. — When puttying cracks in wood, first oil and 
paint, getting the wood well saturated, so that moisture will not find place. To 
make the putty hard and adhesive, mix with hot glue. Use immediately after 
uniting the two. 

Putty for Hurried Work. — There is a formula for making a quick 
putty in case one has not time to allow the ordinar)' article to dn-. To 
powdered pure white lead add a small quantity of lampblack to render it gray, 
red to make it red, etc., and gold size (English drier) to moisten. It is sufficient 
to mix these ingredients together without grindmg them. This putty must only 
be made in such quantities as may be required for immediate use, as it dries 
fast, even under the hand when in use. 

Ten minutes after being applied it will be ready for pumicing, which, how- 
ever, must be performed lightly. It may ev^en be smoothed by using a rag and 
powdered pumice stone. 

Substitute for Putty. — Mix plaster of Paris and water to the consistency 
of thick cream. It should be prepared in small quantities, and appHed im- 
mediately, for it quickly hardens. Brush the sash or frame over with water be- 
fore applying the plaster. For repairing broken windows, it answers very well. 

To Soften Lump Putty. — People often experience much trouble in 
softening hard balls of putty, and by such, the following plan is worthy of 
trial : Break the putty into lumps of the size of a hen's egg ; add a small por- 
tion of linseed oil, and water sufficient to cover the putty ; boil this in an iron 
vessel for about ten minutes, and stir it when hot. The oil will mix with the 
putty. Then pour the water off, and the putty will, I am informed, be as soft 
as if freshly made. 

To Soften 01<l Putty. — A paste of caustic potassa made by mixing the 
caustic alkali or even carbonate of potash or soda with equal parts of freshly 
burnt quicklime which has previously been sprinkled with water, will be found 
of value to soften putty around window panes, to be removed when the former 
has become hard by age. 

Anotlier ]7Ietlio<l. — If soft soap is made into a paste with a solution of 
caustic potash or soda, and the mixture is laid on with an old brush or rag, 
putty or paint will become in a few hours so soft that it may be removed with 
ease. 

To Remove Old Putty. — Many persons destroy their window sashes 
endeavoring to remove old putty. This may be obviated by applying a hot 
poker to the putty, which will then readily yield to the knife, and leave the 
sash clean. 

Imperishable Putty. — Take ten parts of Spanish whiting and one part 
of white lead, and mix them with the necessar}' quantity of boiled linseed oil, 
adding a small amount of the best sweet oil. This last prevents the white lead 
from hardening, and preserves the putty a long time. All putty should be 



178 GLUES AND GLUING. 

made some time before it is used ; and sashes intended to be puttied should 
previously receive one coat of paint, which will cause the putty to adhere much 
more firmly. 

Flint Putty. — Mix common white lead putty with gold size, and you will 
have a putty which will become as hard as flint, and will take a very smooth 
surface. 

Ho^i^ t€» M.eep Potty. — Do not keep putty in a paper or cloth, as the 
oil will be absorbed by capillary attraction, and the putty become hard and 
worthless. Oil silk or a bladder is best to keep putty in. A sheet of paper, 
saturated with linseed oil, will answer in absence of something better. 

Mending- Tin with Paltty. — If tin ware can be spared long enough for 
putty to dry, holes may be permanently stopped with that material, but I prefer 
solder when it is convenient to use it. It certainly looks more workmanlike. 

SmootMng Down Putty. — The best way to smooth down putty after 
it has been applied to work, is to use a clean, thin blade, and rub with a firm 
pressure. A case or dinner knife answers a very good purpose in the absence 
of a regular putty blade. 

To Make a Putty Mnife. — When putty is to be applied to window 
sash, the material cannot be put on in a finished style without a regular putty 
knife. A very good substitute for a boughten one may be made from an old 



SHAPE OF PUTTY KNIFE END. 



table blade by cutting the end, as illustrated, with a cold chisel, and then grind- 
ing it smooth. This knife will be found convenient for use in the application 
and smoothing down of putty in various places. When finishing a job, rub the 
blade upon a piece of wood or other hard substance until perfectly clean. 



GLUES AND GLUING. 



Mot €rlue. — In every family there should be some sort of a glue pot and a 
good quality of glue ready for any necessary repairs. For wood I much prefer 
the hot material to any liquid glue. 

Selecting €rlue. — Choose that which has a clear, transparent look, free 
from clouds or spots, and of a reddish-yellow cast, without bad taste or smell. 



GLUES AND GLUING. 17^ 

The quality of glue may be very well determined before using, by putting a 
piece in cold water, for that which is good will swell, but not dissolve. Good 
glue will only become soluble in water when heated nearly to a boiling point. 

Another very good test at the time of purchase is to whittle with a jack knife. 
Simply cut the edge of a piece. If the material cuts Hke horn, rolling up a hard, 
elastic shaving, it is good, but if it cuts brittle it is not cheap at any price. Good 
glue, when in the cake, is always crisp, and will bear but little bending when 
perfectly dry, but snap violently. If it has a rotten break it is not good. In 
purchasing glue, therefore, select it in dry weather. If it is soft at that time it 
is best to not take it. 

Pure glue possesses a much better body and will require double the amount 
of water to reduce it to a proper consistency for use; it will also retain its ad- 
hesive qualities, so as to form fine filaments when dropping from the brush, 
while poor glue will drop in even drops like water. 

CondUion of Olue.— Burnt glue is always weak. If kept dry, glue may 
be preserved for any length of time, but when moist it soon spoils. No more 
glue should be prepared at any one time than is to be used immediately, and 
whenever a job requiring extra strength is to be executed, it will always pay to 
prepare a fresh pot. The hotter the glue the better the jomt. In all large and 
long joints it should be applied immediately after boiling. Employ pressure 
until it is set or hardened. The clamp on page 20 should be used wherever 
possible. 

The Glue Kettle.— Glue cannot be handily or well prepared by setting 
the vessel that contains it directly upon the stove. It is liable to burn, and 
furthermore, will cook down too rapidly and become unfit for use in a short 
time. Where one vessel sits in another containing hot water, trouble often 
arises from incrustation of glue, reaching half an inch thick sometimes, near the 
top of the dish. 

Three or four small holes should be drilled in the side of the kettle close to 
the top rim. The kettle being set into the boiler, the steam arising from the 
water surrounding the kettle passes through the holes and keeps the interior of 
the kettle above the surface of the glue constantly moist. 

The glue which drips from the brush will, therefore, run down and reunite 
with the mass, instead of hardening and adhering to the sides, and the kettle is 
thus kept clean, however much used. The holes should be confined to one-half 
or two-thirds of the kettle, in order that a place may be left at which to pour 
out the glue when desired. 

A cheap and very simple glue pot may be made by using a tin cup that will 
set down intp and rest upon the top of a common tea kettle. A stilL cheaper 
arrangement is to set an old tea cup in a basin of boihng water, and dissolve 
the glue in the cup. 

A common round fruit can, with a couple of ears soldered on for bail and a 



l8o 



GLUES AND GLUING. 




THE GLUE KETTLE. 



little cup fitted into the opening, all of which will be done by a tinner for a few 
cents, makes a good glue kettle, as shown in illustration. It is not absolutely 
necessary to have a bail on the small cup, as that is 
not to be lifted out for use. 

The water should be poured out and the can dried 
after using, especially if only brought into occasional 
service. Wash the glue from the cup and dry that 
also, so as to have each batch fresh and strong. 

Preparing" €rlue. — To prepare glue as it should 
be, more care than skill is required. Break the cakes 
up into small pieces, apply a little blood warm water, 
and allow the glue to dissolve slowly. After it is 
melted or softened, set the glue cup into hot water, 
and stir the substance, and add hot water until it is 
all dissolved and reduced to the consistency of thin 
molasses. There is no danger of overheating glue 
when the cup is in water, but if the cup is set on the stove it may be easily- 
spoiled. 

Applying* Olue. — In the application of glue it should be remembered that 
the thinner the layer which is applied the stronger will be the joint, and the less 
water there is combined with the glue the sooner will it dry, and consequently 
the less will the joint be exposed to accidental disturbance before union has 
fairly occurred. Moreover, it is necessary that the glue be brought into imme- 
diate contact with the entire surface of the wood. The glue should be well 
rubbed in with a brush and the two surfaces should be rubbed well together, 
and retained in contact under great pressure until the glue has become dry and 
hard. Complete dryness rarely takes place under several days ; but after the 
lapse of twelve hours the joint becomes tolerably strong. A joint made in 
this way is probably as strong as can be made by any ordinary process. 

€rlue not Adhesive. — The conditions under which glue does not hold 
firmly are : First, when the glue is poor or stale ; second, when the surfaces to 
which it is applied are greasy or dirty ; third, when the glue is cold; fourth, 
when the surfaces are not pressed together with sufficient force ; fifth, when the 
glue is not well rubbed into contact with the surface. 

Liquid, or Prepared Olue. — There are several formulas for mak- 
ing glue, but none of them so good for wood as the hot glue, with no addition 
but water. A little nitric acid will prevent the glue from gelatinizing or becom- 
ing solid, and the further addition of a little vinegar will prevent it from mould- 
ing. Some add sulphate or chloride of zinc to common glue for the purpose of 
keeping it liquid. 

Wliisky Olue. — Crack up the glue and put it in a bottle ; add to it com- 
mon whisky ; shake up, cork tight, and in three or four days it can be used. 



GLUES AND GLUING. l8l 

It requires no heating ; will keep for almost any length of time, and it is at all 
times ready to use, except in the coldest weather, when it will require warming. 
It must be kept tight, so that the whisky will not evaporate. The usual cork 
stopper should not be used. If too much alcohol be used, the glue separates 
from the water and falls to the vessel in the form of a white, viscid substance. 

Vinegar ^xlue. — By dissolving common glue in vinegar, a very good 
article is made of what is called " prepared glue." Make it about the consis- 
tency of mucilage ; when it becomes too thick reduce with vinegar, or dissolve 
common cabinet glue in strong hot vinegar, three parts, and alcohol one part, 
with the addition of a little alum. Keep it in a bottle, well corked, and any 
broken article about the house may be quickly and firmly mended. 

Sugar of Lime Glue. — This may be prepared by dissolving three parts 
of glue, broken into small pieces, in twelve to fifteen parts of saccharate ofhme. 
On warming, the glue dissolves rapidly, and remains liquid when cold, without 
losing its strength. Any desirable consistency may be secured by varying the 
amount of saccharate of lime. v 

Aquafortis Olue. — A liquid glue may be made by dissolving thirty-three 
parts of best glue on the steam bath in a porcelain vessel, in thirty-six parts of 
water. Then add gradually, stirring constantly, three parts of aquafortis, or 
enough to prevent the glue hardening when cool. 

Compound Olue. — An adhesive substance called compound glue is made 
from flour, albumen, or white of an egg and yeast mixed together, and well 
worked until of the proper consistency to roll and pound. After being well 
worked with gum water on even tin plates, and dried in a stove, cut in 
cakes for use. To color, tinge the glue with vermilion for red ; indigo for blue ; 
saffron for yellow. 

Another Formula. — Take common glue in very small or thin bits, and 
isinglass glue ; infuse them in as much alcohol as will cover them for at least 
twenty-four hours. Then melt the whole together, and, while they are over the 
fire, add as much powdered chalk as will render them an opaque white. This is 
said to make a very strong glue. 

Isinglass Portable Olue. — Dissolve beaten isinglass in water by boil- 
ing, and having strained it through a coarse linen cloth, evaporate it again to 
such a consistence that, being cold, the glue will be perfectly hard and dry. A 
^reat improvement is made by adding a little alcohol or brandy. 

Another Formula. — Take one pound of the best glue, boil and strain it 
very clear ; boil likewise four ounces of isinglass, put it in a double glue pot with 
one half pound of fine brown sugar, and boil it pretty thick ; then pour it into 
molds ; when cold, cut in small pieces and dry them. This glue is very useful 
to draughtsmen, architects, etc., as it immediately dilutes in warm water, and 
fastens the paper without the process of dampening. 

JWIarlne Olue. — This adhesive compound is composed of four parts (by 



l82 GLUES AND GLUING. 

weight) of India rubber cut into shreds and dissolved in thirty-four parts of 
coal oil, to which is added sixty-two parts of shellac in powder. The whole is 
heated, in order to obtain a homogeneous mixture, after which it is poured out 
so as to form cakes when solid. 

When required for use, it is heated in an iron vessel, and applied hot, with a 
brush, to the surfaces of wood which are required to be united, and these are 
then screwed up till the glue is cold and dry. Articles cemented with this com- 
pound resist the action of water much better than when united with common glue. 

Another Formula. — Mix together gum sandarac, one-fourth pound; 
gum mastic, one-fourth pound, and methylated spirit, eight pounds. When the 
gums are dissolved, add one-half pound of turpentine, and mix this with a thick, 
hot solution of the best glue (to which a little isinglass has been added to clarify 
it), and filter through muslin. 

Elastic Sweet Olue. — Good common glue is dissolved in water, on the 
water bath, and the water evaporated down to a mass of thick consistency, to 
which a quantity of glycerine, equal in weight with the glue, is added, after 
which the heating^is continued until all the water has been driven off, when the 
mass is poured out into molds or on a marble slab. 

This mixture answers for stamps, printers' rollers, galvano-plastic copies, 
and so forth. The sweet glue, for ready use by moistening with the tongue, is 
made in the same way, substituting, however, the same quantity of powdered 
sugar for the glycerine. 

Olue for I>aiiip Atmosphere. — A glue for fastening labels on preserve 
bottles may be made by macerating five parts of good glue in from eighteen to- 
twenty parts of water for a day, and then adding to the liquid nine parts of 
sugar candy and three parts of gum arable. 

The mixture can be brushed upon paper while lukewarm ; it keeps well, does 
not stick together, and when moistened adheres firmly to bottles. For labels 
to be used in places subject to damp, it is well to prepare a paste of good flour 
and glue, to which linseed oil, varnish and turpentine have been added, in the 
proportion of half an ounce each to the pound. Labels prepared in the latter 
way do not fall off in damp places. 

Olue for Polished Steel. — A Turkish receipt for a cement used to 
fasten diamonds and other precious stones to metallic surfaces, and which is 
said to strongly unite even surfaces of polished steel, although exposed to mois- 
ture, is as follows : 

Dissolve five or six bits of gum mastic, each of the size of a large pea, in as 
much alcohol as will suffice to render it liquid. In another vessel, dissolve in 
brandy as much isinglass, previously softened in water, as will make a two- 
ounce vial of strong glue, adding two small bits of gum ammoniac, which must 
be rubbed until dissolved. Then mix the whole with heat. Keep in a vial 
closely stopped. When it is to be used, set the vial in boiling water. 



GLUES AND GLUING. 183 

Waterproof Oliie. — One ounce of gum sandarac and one ounce of 
mastic are to be dissolved together in a pint of alcohol, to which an ounce of 
white turpentine is to be added. At the same time a very thick glue is to be 
kept ready, mixed with a little isinglass. The solution of resins in alcohol is to 
be heatqd to boiling in a glue pot, and the glue added gradually with constant 
stirring, so as to render the whole mass homogeneous. 

After the mixture is strained through a cloth, it is ready for use, and is to be 
applied hot. It dries quickly and becomes very hard, and surfaces of wood 
united by it do not separate when immersed in water. 

Flexible Grlue. — A German chemist has discovered that if glue or gela- 
tine be mixed with about one-quarter of its weight of glycerine, it loses its 
brittleness, and becomes useful for many purposes, for which it is otherwise 
unfit, such as dressing leather, giving elasticity to porcelain parchment or 
enamel paper, and for bookbinding. 

Sliellae for Oluiiig. — A solution of shellac and alcohol has been used 
and highly extolled as a substitute for common glue. It forms a tolerable 
liquid cement, but is far inferior to glue. Any of the common recipes will af- 
ford a liquid glue which will answer well enough for purposes where no great 
strength is required ; but we know of no cement which is more convenient than 
common glue, and yet which will unite wood with anything like the efficiency 
of that article. 

Insoluble Oliie, — Ordinary glue can be rendered insoluble by water, by 
adding to the water with which glue is mixed, when required for use, a small 
quantity of bichromate of potash, and exposing the articles to which it is ap- 
plied to the light. Chromic acid has the property of rendering glue or gelatine 
insoluble ; and as the operation of heating the glue pot is conducted in the light, 
no special exposure of the pieces joined is necessary. 

Fire-proof Oliie. — To make a glue for resisting fire, proceed as follows : 
Mix a handful of quicklime in four ounces of Hnseed oil ; boil to a good thick- 
ness, then spread on plates in the shade, and it will become exceedingly hard, 
but may easily be dissolved over the fire, and used as ordinary glue. It resists 
fire after having been used in gluing substances together. 

Heat in G-lning. — If glue is applied to wood, and the wood is left cold, 
it will immediately chill the glue, and a film will form that will prevent the glue 
from striking into the wood. If, on the other hand, the wood is hot, the pro- 
cess of cooling is necessarily slow, and the full strength of the glue is obtained. ' 
Where the parts are so located as to make it impossible to heat, set a block of ' 
wood upon the stove or by the fire until thoroughly heated, and apply the block 
with clamps. 

Japanese Rice Olue. — A glue, very elegant and strong, is made by the 
Japanese out of rice. They simply boil it in water and work it into a fine paste. 
It is said to be very beautiful, snow white, almost transparent, and that pa- 



104 POLISHES AND POLISHIN 

pers pasted together with it will separate in their own substances before the 
glue will give way. This article is very useful to ladies when making nice, 
white paper boxes and other articles for ornamental purposes. 

Second Oluing'. — When a piece of furniture has been previously repaired 
with glue, and the joint has proved defective, if it be wished to repeat the oper- 
ation, the old glue must be all carefully removed by soaking and scraping. 
The surfaces must then be warmed, dried, and treated as on the first ap- 
plication. 

Clamp ill Oluing:. — Always put a clamp on your work wherever you can, 
for although the glue will adhere of itself to the wood, it adheres much more 
strongly if pressed down by that appliance. See " Clamp," page 20. Also, 
never put a veneer on a piece of work that is uneven, for although it may set 
square under the pressure of the clamp, when you come to scrape it, it will 
yield to the inequalities, and when varnished and polished, will be full of de- 
pressions. 

To Keep Olue. — To prevent glue becoming sour and moldy, make an 
addition of a quantity of carbonate of soda, just sufficient to give a strong smeJ 
to the glue. This will accomplish the desired result, it is said. 

Olue for Emery. — To fasten emery to leather, boil glue very thin ; add a 
little milk, raise the pile of the leather, and put on the glue with a brush. Then 
sprinkle on the emery and let it cool. 

IVliite Crlue. — To make a good cement for wood with a light color, dis- 
solve best white glue in a sufficient quantity of hot, strong acetic acid or vinegar. 

Olue for Metal. — To stick leather, paper, or wood to metal, to a gill of 
glue dissolved in water, add a tablespoonful of glycerine. 

Separating' Grlued Parts. — To remove a glued part from another, as a 
dowel entering an auger hole, wind a wet rag around the piece for twelve or 
twenty-four hours. Then hold firmly and give a few sharp raps. If the parts 
do not separate, apply hot water by means of a cloth. 



POLISHES AND POLISHING. 



Oerman Furniture Polish. — The Germans and French have a way of 
poHshing furniture not much in use here. First, the surface of the wood is 
evenly ground with fine sand paper and then with pumice stone and linseed oil ; 
then a tampon is made of cotton, covered with flannel, and on the top of this a 
piece of fine linen is fixed. 

In this tampon there is soaked about a teaspoonful of solution of shellac in 
alcohol, and one drop of linseed oil placed on top, and then the furniture is 



POLISHES AND POLISHING. 185 

rubbed till, by the drying of the varnish during the rubbing an exceedingly 
fine polish is obtained. This operation is repeated two or three times. 
Occasionally some pure alcohol is placed on the tampon. 

Wax Furniture PolisU. — Take beeswax and turpentine, one ounce 
of the former to half a pint of the latter ; put the turpentine in a tin basin and 
cut the beeswax in small pieces and put in, then put in the oven when not very 
hot, so it (the wax) will gradually melt ; stir constantly. 

Apply to the furniture with a piece of woolen rag (a piece of broadcloth is 
best for the purpose) and have another piece to rub with. The rubbing should 
be vigorous. An old silk handkerchief may be used to advantage to finish up 
with. 

Tripoli Furniture Poli§li. — Take two ounces of tripoli, powdered; 
put it into an earthen pot, with just enough wate: to cover it ; then take a piece 
•of white flannel, lay it over a piece of cork or rubber, and proceed to polish the 
varnish, always wetting it with the tripoli and water. 

It will be known when the process is finished, by wiping a part of the work 
with a sponge, and obseiving whether there is a fair, even gloss. When this is 
the case, take a bit of mutton suet and fine flour, and clean the work. The 
above process is suitable to other varnished surfaces. 

Common Furniture Polish. — Make a mixture of three parts of linseed 
oil and one part spirits of turpentine. It not only covers the disfigured surface, 
but restores the wood to its original color and leaves a luster upon the surface. 
Put on a light coat with a piece of cloth and rub with woolen. Equal propor- 
tions of turpentine, linseed oil and vinegar, thoroughly applied and then rubbed 
with flannel, is also good. 

Polish for Oiled Furniture. — The black walnut tables on sewing 
machines may be kept nice by rubbing with a cloth moistened lightly with 
kerosene oil. Try it on any other piece of oiled furniture, and you will quickly 
see an improvement. Do not use it on varnished articles. 

Polish for Mahog^any. — Take half a pint of rectified naphtha and add 
two and a half ounces of shellac ; put it in a bottle in a warm place, and when 
dissolved, it is ready for use. It works well with a brush. 

For Cherry Furniture. — To dress up cherry furniture, take linseed oil, 
put it into a glazed crock with as much alkanet root as it will cover. Let it 
boil gently, and it will become of a strong, red color ; when cool it will be fit 
for use. 

Slaek Walnut Polish. — Take asphaltum, pulverize it, place it in a jar 
or bottle, pour over it about twice its bulk of turpentine or benzole, put it in a 
^warm place, dud shake it from time to time. When dissolved, strain it and 
apply it to the wood with a cloth or stiff brush. If it should make too dark a 
5tain, thin it with turpentine or benzole. This will dry in a few hours. 

If it is desired to bring out the grain still more, apply a mixture of boiled oij 



l86 POLISHES AND POLISHING. 

and turpentine ; this is better than oil alone. Put no oil with the asphaltum 
mixture, or it will dry very slowly. When the oil is dry, the wood can be pol- 
ished with the following : Shellac varnish, of the usual consistency, two parts ; 
boiled oil one part. Shake it well before using. Apply it to the wood by put- 
ting a few drops on a cloth, and rubbing briskly on the wood for a few min- 
utes. The polish works well on old varnished furniture. 

To Poli§li Bare Wood. — Take a piece of pumice stone and water, and 
pass regularly over the work until the rising of the grain 'is cut down; then 
take powdered tripoli and boiled linseed oil, and polish the work to a bright 
surface. 

To Apply Frencli Polish to Wood. — The wood must be placed 
level, and sand-papered until it is quite smooth, otherwise it will not poHsh. 
Then provide a rubber of cloth, list or sponge, wrap it in a soft rag, so as to 
leave a handle at the back for your hand, shake the bottle against the rubber, 
and in the middle of the varnish on the rag place with your finger a little raw 
linseed oil. Now commence rubbing in small circular strokes, and contfhue 
until the pores are filled, charging the rubber with varnish and oil as required, 
until the whole wood has had one coat. 

When dry, repeat the process once or twice, until the surface appears even 
and fine, between each coat using fine sand paper to smooth down all irregular- 
ities. Lastly, use a clean rubber with a little strong alcohol only, which will 
remove the oil and the cloudiness it causes, when the work Will be complete. 

HoikV to Polish Wood Carvings. — Take a piece of wadding, soft 
and pliable, and drop a few drops of white or transparent poHsh, or French 
polish, according to the color of the wood. Now wrap the wet wadding up in 
a piece of old linen, forming it into a pad ; hold the pad by the surplus linen ; 
touch the pad with one or two drops of linseed oil. Now pass the pad gently 
over the parts to be polished, working it round in small circles, occasionally re- 
wetting the wadding in polish, and the pad with a drop or so of oil. 

The object of the oil is merely to cause the pad to run over the wood easily 
without sticking, therefore as little as possible should be used, as it tends to 
deaden the polish to a certain extent. When a carving is to be polished after 
having been varnished, the same process is necessary, but it can only be applied 
to the plainer portions of the work. Plain surfaces must be made perfectly 
smooth with glass paper before polishing, as every scratch or mark will show 
twice as badly after the operation. 

When the polish is first rubbed on the wood, it is called the " bodying in ;" it 
will sink into the wood and not give much glaze. It must, when dry, have an- 
other body rubbed on, and a third generally finishes it ; but if not, the operation 
must be repeated. 

Just before the task is completed, greasy smears will show themselves ; these 
will disappear by continuing the gentle rubbing without oiling the pad. You 



POLISHES AND POLISHING. 187 

snould now be able to see your face in the wood, at least so says the Cabinet 
Maker, 

Hoiv tto Polish Marble. — First smooth it by rubbing over it a piece 
of level surface cast iron or a brick well supplied with water and sand, renew- 
ing the sand by a finer kind and then by emery, until a very smooth surface is- 
procured. Then polish with putty powder — oxide of tin — and water rubbed on 
with a piece of tightly rolled wool felt — a strip of an old hat — used endwise.. 
Lastly, wash with water and dry with a soft linen cloth. 

Polish for Patent I^eather. — Whites of two eggs, one tablespoonful 
of spirits of wine, two large lumps of sugar, finely powdered ivory black, as 
much as may be sufficient to produce the necessary blackness and consistence. 
To be laid on with a soft sponge lightly, and afterward gently rubbed with a 
soft cloth. 

Waxing and Polishing Floors. — For waxing wooden floors the fol- 
lowing preparation is recommended : Dissolve three ounces of potash and four 
drams of catechu in four pounds of boiling water in an earthen pot. When 
these ingredients are dissolved, add two pounds of water, and boil again, stir- 
ring in four and a half ounces of yellow wax with a wooden rod. Continue 
boiling until all the lumps of wax disappear. Let it cool, and add three pounds- 
more of water. In this condition it is ready for use. 

By boiling the wax and potash together a soluble wax soap is formed, so that 
a floor waxed with this preparation may be swept, but cannot be washed withn 
water, for that would dissolve the soluble wax soap. For this reason an oil 
paint is preferable to wax polish, the only advantage of the latter being that it 
dries quickly, while oil paints require a long time, during which the room can- 
not be used. 

To Polish Painted Floors. — After the floor has been painted, in or- 
der to give it a polish and make the surface more permanent, it is coated with 
what is called *' floor lac," which may be made thus : 

Dissolve one ounce of shellac in one-fourth of a pound of eighty per cent, 
spirits, and add to the solution one dram of camphor, and strain out the lees irfc 
a linen cloth. This lac is used after the paint is dry, and gives mote tenacity 
to the surface. A fresh coat of lac may be applied from time to time, as it 
wears off, and you have always a fine polished surface, which can be washed. 

Blaek Polish for Iron. — To obtain that beautiful deep black polish on 
iron or steel which is so much sought after, it is required to boil one part of 
sulphur in ten parts of oil of turpentine, the product of which is a brown sul- 
phuric oil of disagreeable smell. This should be put on the outside as lightly 
as possible, and heated over a spirit lamp till the required black polish is ob- 
tained. 

To Protect Polished Iron. — To keep polished iron work from rusting 
in salt air, coat it with mercurial ointment, or, what answers nearly as well,. 



l88 POLISHES AND POLISHING. 

with a mixture of mutton tallow (free from salt) and white lead applied in a 
melted state. When the machinery is to be used the coating can be removed 
by slightly warming the metal. 

White Brig^litness for Iron. — The following method for brightening 
iron is recommended by Boden : The articles to be brightened are, when taken 
from the forge or the rolls, in the case of such articles as plate, wire, etc., placed 
an dilute sulphuric acid (i to 20), where they remain for about an hour. This 
has the effect of cleansing them, and they are washed clean with water and 
tiried with sawdust. They are then dipped for about a second in commercial 
nitrous acid, washed carefully, dried in sawdust, and rubbed clean. 

It is said that iron goods thus treated acquire, without undergoing any of the 
-usual polishing operation, a bright surface having a white glance. Care should 
be taken by any one using the nitrous acid not to inhale its fumes. 

Simple Iron Polish. — Rods in grates, and other polished irons, may be 
renewed by simply taking a piece of flannel dipped in coal oil and touched to 
■emery, finely powdered, and rubbing the part briskly. 

To Polish Britannia. — Wash the ware every time it is used, in hot 
suds of fine soap, rinse with boihng water, and dry while hot with a soft towel. 
Once each week rub the metal with wash leather and a very little whiting. 

To Polish Brass Ornaments Inlaid in Wood. — File the brass 
very clean with a smooth file ; then take some tripoli powdered very fine, and 
mix it with the linseed oil. Dip in this a rubber of felt, with which polish the 
work until the desired effect is obtained. 

If the work is ebony, or black rosewood, take some elder coal powdered very 
fine, and apply it dry after you have done with the tripoli, and it will produce a 
superior polish. 

To Hake Hetal Polishes. — Pulverize a pound of chalk in two quarts 
of water — the water should be filtered — let it stand two minutes ; in this time 
the gritty matter will have settled to the bottom ; pour the water into another 
vessel slowly, so as not to stir up the settlings ; let it stand until entirely settled 
and then pour it off as before. The settlings in the second vessel will be your 
prepared chalk, ready for use as soon as dried. 

Spanish whiting treated in the same way makes a very good cleaning or pol- 
ishing powder. Some operatives add a little jeweler's rouge, which is a decided 
improvement. In cases where a sharp polishing powder is required, it may be 
prepared in the same way from rotten stone. 

Polish for Clothes Boxes. — Camphorated oil is highly recommended 
as a polish for certain uses. This is simply sweet oil in which gum camphor is 
dissolved. The camphor serves the additional purpose of driving away moths. 

To Polish a Oold Chain. — Put the chain in a small glass bottle, with 
water, a little tooth-powder and some soap. Cork the bottle, and shake it for 
a minute violently. The friction against the glass polishes the gold, and the 



SOLDER AND SOLDERING. 189 

soap and chalk extract every particle of grease and dirt from the interstices of 
a chain of the most intricate pattern. Rinse it in clear, cold water, wipe with a 
towel, and the polish will surprise you. 

To Preserve Polish on Plate. — Among the minor annoyances of 
housekeeping is the one that, however carefully plate may be cleaned before 
putting it away, in the course of a week or so it becomes dull and tarnished. 
This may be avoided by the following simple means : After thoroughly cleans- 
ing the plate and polishing it with whiting, wrap up each piece in tin-foil, such 
as is used for wrapping up chocolate, tea, etc. ; then put it in a dry cupboard or 
drawer, and at the end of many years the plate will be as bright as the first day- 
it was packed. 

Polisb for Stoves. — Black lead, well mixed with white of egg, is a good 
stove blacking. Lay on with a paint brush, and when dry polish with a hard 
brush. 

Commercial stove luster, when mixed with turpentine and applied in the 
usual manner, is blacker, more glossy, and more durable than when mixed with 
any other liquid. The turpentine prevents rust, and when put on an old rusty 
stove will make it look as well as new. 

It is said that if stove polish is mixed with very strong soapsuds, the luster 
appears immediately, and the dust of the polish does not fly around as it usu- 
ally does. Cold tea is better than clear water or vinegar for mixing luster. 
at least so far as odor goes. 



SOLDER AND SOLDERING. 



Tools and Material for Soldering. — Soldering is not such a 
difficult job as some people imagine, and the reason that repairing done at home 
to tin ware has such an unfinished look is because good materials are not used, 
and the operator does not go at the job in the right way. 

In the first place, the outfit, which is not expensive, should consist of some 
common solder, a small soldering iron—copper— a vial of prepared muriatic 
acid, a small alcohol lamp and a lump of resin. 

To ]?IaRe Solder. — Solder can be obtained at any tin shop, but if desired 
to make it at home, melt together two parts lead and one of bar tin, and you 
have the common solder. 

Soldering with a Lamp. — When a hole appears ia a tin pan, scrape 
the surface bright with a knife, sprinkle on a little finely powdered resin, lay on 
a bit of solder and hold it over the spirit lamp until the solder melts, and it will 
flow over the fracture and make a complete job. If the pan is old, rusty or 



190 SOLDER AND SOLDERING. 

greasy, use the muriatic acid in place of the resin. I Hke it rather the best under 
-all circumstances, yet resin works well enough when the tin is new. 

To Solder with the Iron. — Where a large fracture is made, scrape 
bright, use acid or resin and apply the solder with the "iron." Here is where 
one great defect comes in ; the copper is not " silvered " and soon loses its at- 
tractive power and will not lift the solder, but can be easily remedied and kept 
in complete order. When the surface gets blackened, file the four sides until 
they are bright, and then rub them upon a smooth board while hot in a mixture 
of resin and solder; the " silvering " will soon be effected, When the iron is 
taken from the fire wipe it on a damp cloth before attempting to use it to lift 
the metal with. 

To Make Soldering Liquid. — The zinc solution is made by putting 
:some muriatic acid, say two ounces, in a wide mouthed bottle, with twice as 
much water; add to this some strips of sheet zinc, and when the acid has dis- 
solved all the zinc it will, which will be known by the stopping of the efferves- 
<:ence, it is ready for use. This is best done in the open air, as the gas given 
off "during the operation smells unpleasantly. 

The Fire for Soldering. — The soldering iron is best heated in char- 
coal, or the coals of a wood fire ; if a hard coal fire is used, more care is 
Tequired. The copper should never get red hot, as in that case the coating of 
the point will be burned off, and it must be retinned. Remember that the 
metal to be soldered must be heated by the contact before the solder will unite 
with it and flow. 

It is well to practice first on some bits of tin, as an unskilled hand may heat 
the utensil too much, and thus unsolder parts already joined. 

To Make Solder Drops. — Heat the solder just enough to melt it and 
no more, then pour it in a steady stream of about an eighth of an inch in diam- 
eter, from a height of two or three inches, into cold water. 

To Make Very Soft Solder. — Soft solder that will melt quickly at a 
low temperature over an ordinary candle or lamp, and that can be used for 
mending tinware, can be made of pure lead and tin, one part each. 

To Make Brazing Solder. — Ordinary brass is mixed or melted with 
one-sixth its weight of zinc. Pour out of the crucible, cool, and granulate by 
crushing with a hammer. 

Alloy for Soldering Steel.— An alloy suited for soldering steel and 
iron to brass, is made of three parts tin, thirty-nine and a half copper, and seven 
and a half zinc. It is stated by Dr. Dingier that, by this alloy in a molten state, 
steel and iron, as well as copper and brass, can be so joined together as to prevent 
any breakage. Before it is applied, all the metals to be joined together must be 
heated to the same temperature as the alloy. 

To Make Soldering \rire. — Make a few holes in the bottom of a ladle 
with an awl ; then pour into the ladle the melted solder, moving the ladle at the 



SOLDER AND SOLDERING. I91 

time, allowing the stream to fall upon an old saw blade, or something of the 
kind. A little practice will make one efficient. The size of the wire may be 
varied by moving the ladle fast or slow. 

Another Metbod. — A simple form of making wire and drops is given by 
a correspondent of the Scientific American. He says he has made solder for 
his own use for many years, by the following simple process : Take a sheet of 
.stiff writing or drawing paper, roll it in a conical form, exactly hke the cornu- 
copias sold by confectioners, but broader in proportion to its length. Make a 
ring of stiff wire to hold it in, attaching a suitable handle to the ring. The 
point of the cone may be cut off to leave an orifice of the proper dimensions lor 
the slow flow of the metal. 

When filled with molten solder, it is held just above the surface of a pail of 
cold water, the stream of solder flowing from it will congeal in the shape of a 
wire. If held a little higher, so that the stream will break into drops before 
striking the water, it will form elongated " tears " of metal. 

By holding it still higher, each drop forms a thin concave cup or shell. As 
•each of these forms has its peculiar use, he has found this simple instrument 
invaluable. A few experiments will convince any one that he can prepare 
solder in any convenient form by the aid of a sheet of paper and a bucket of 
cold water. 

To Solder Oerinan Silver. — Pour out some spirits of salt in an earthen- 
Avare dish, and add a piece of zinc. Then scrape clean the edges to be soldered 
and paint over with the spirit of salt. Apply a piece of pewter solder to the 
point and melt with the blowpipe. 

Solder for Steam Valve§ — The following solder will braze steel, and 
may be found very useful in case of a valve stem or other light portion breaking, 
when it is important that the engine should continue work for some time 
longer : Silver nineteen parts, copper one part, brass two parts. If practicable, 
charcoal dust should be strewn over the melted metal of the crucible. 

Soldering^ with Tin. — In many cases, good work may be done without 
the soldering iron, by filling or turning the joints so that they fit closely ; moist- 
ening them with soldering fluid ; placing a piece of smooth tin-foil between 
them. ; tying them together with binding wire, and heating the whole in a lamp 
or fire till the tin-foil melts. 

I have often joined pieces of brass in this way so that the joints were quite 
invisible. 

Hard Solder. — This substance is made by melting together two parts of 
copper to one of tin. 

Oold Solder. — For fine work a solder is made of twenty-four parts gold, 
two parts of silver and one part of copper. 

Silver Solder.— To make a hard solder use four parts of silver to one of 
copper. To make a soft solder, use two parts of silver to one of brass wire. 



192 



HOW TO TIE KNOTS. 



HOW TO TIE KNOTS. 



The WeaTer's Knot. — A very effectual kaot for fastening the ends of 
strings together, so that they will not slip, is shown in the illustration. It is 
tied by crossing the ends of the strings between the balls of the left hand 
thumb and finger, the one running down to the right, below the other. Now 




THE WEAVER S KNOT. 



carry right hand string in a circle around the joint of the thumb, beneath its 
own end, and back between the crossed string ends. Now bend the left string 
end down through the loop, catch it under the thumb, holding firmly, and draw 
the right hand string till a hard knot is made. 

To Tie a Safety Knot. — To make a safety knot as represented in cut, 
take the fixed or standing part of the rope in the left hand, lay the free end over 
it, and then by a twist of the wrist make a loop in the standing part which shall 




THE SAFETY KNOT. 

inclose the free end, then carry the free end behind the standing part and 
through the loop, parallel with itself. 

To Tie the Flat Knot. — This knot, shown in drawing, is well adapted 
for common use. It is neat, flat, does not readily slip, and is easily untied. It 
is the same as is used in tying shoe-strings and neck-ties, except that the ends 




THE FLAT KNOT. 



are drawn through. It is essential that the two parts of each string should be 
on the same side. 



HOW TO TIE KNOTS. 



193 



The Double Ijoop Hitch. — To make this form two oops as shown 
in figure i, then bend the rope between them, bnnging the loops together, and 





THE DOUBLE LOOP— I. 



DOUBLE LOOP HITCH — 2. 



drop them over a post as in figure 2. This is very handy for hoisting or 
temporary fastenmg to a post. 

The Siiig^le Bowline Knot. — This is a knot particularly adapted to 
heavy and hard ropes. It is used by sailors for dock anchorage. It will hold 




SINGLE BOWLINE KNOT. 



an immense pressure and loosen readily again. Its foimation is shown in ac- 
companying illustration. 




IHE BINDING KNOT BEGUN. 



The Binding Knot. — In the illustration herewith, is shown a very 
effectual knot for binding a breakage or splice, and finishing with both ends of 




THE BINDING KNOT FORMED. 



the cord held firmly down. As will be seen, the first loop is made longer 
than the space to be bound. When the winding is finished, slip the cord 



194 CEMENTS AND CEMENTING. 

through the loop and then pull on the loop end, or free string, until the other is 
drawn down beneath the clasping cord. 

The Half Hitch Knot. — The two illustrations show the formation of a 
half hitch knot, which differs but little from the common bow knot. No. 2 
shows its application. It may be used in various ways ; among the most im- 





SINGLE HALF HITCH KNOT. — I. HALF HITCH KNOT APPLIED. — 2. 

portant may be mentioned the tying down of cork bottles. When it is reversed 
it becomes a running knot. To form the knot, take the rope or cord in the left 
hand and make a loop, then in the right hand make a second loop, and put this 
through the first and pull on the main part of the rope, or that part in the left 
hand. It may be quickly made, and will be found very useful for common ap- 
plication. 



CEMENTS AND CEMENTING. 



Value of Cements. — Cements of most kinds are of simple formula, in- 
expensive and highly profitable in use. The price of this book may be saved 
several times over by an ordinary family in a single year, if necessary repairs 
are properly and promptly attended to, by the use of cements given herein. 
The following is a very complete list of the most valuable adhesive compounds, 
and the most of them I have tested and found to be all that can be desired. 

Application of Cement. — It must be remembered that application has 
much to do with the accomplishment of the desired object. The best cement 
ever discovered may appear to be valueless, from bad management. All 
cements that are used in a fused state, that is, melted or warmed up for appli- 
cation, should be applied to warm surfaces, for chilling the substance before 
thorough adhesion has taken place, makes the job a failure. Really, the parts 
brought together should be heated to a temperature equal to the adhesive sub- 
stance. 

Sealing: Wax Cement. — This will unite glass or china quite firmly, if 
the parts are heated sufficiently to melt the wax, and then kept firmly together 
until cold. But sealing wax will not adhere at all to these substances if melted 



CEMENTS AND CEMENTING. I95 

and applied to the cold parts. The same may be said in the use of shellac. 
This appears to be the most difficult point to bear in mind, and there are thou- 
sands of people who buy and use cements and call them worthless, just because 
they do not use them properly. The following hints should always be observed. 

IIiiit§ for Cementing. — First, properly prepare the cement. If to be 
fused for use, warm the article to be repaired. Second, do not use but little of 
the material. When broken parts are closely brought together, there is but 
very little space for cement, and that very little is much better than more, for 
the molecules bind the two broken parts together, but if the two parts are 
separated a little, the space is filled by a sheet of cement, which is not a hard 
substance of itself, and this soft line gives way. Third, have the parts clean — 
perfectly clean, when the cement is applied. Fourth, pressure upon the two 
parts is of the utmost importance, for the complete seclusion of air. So long as 
the space between the fractured parts is filled with air, there can be no effectual 
adhesion. 

IShellac Cement. — Melt the shellac, and apply while hot to heated broken 
parts, and hold them firmly together until the gum is cold. This is not adapted 
to flexible objects and will not stand heat, as that softens the cement, or alco- 
hol, as this gum is soluble in that liquid. 

Wliite Lead Cement. — For mending crockery and other such articles 
so that they will stand heat and water, nothing is better than simply pure white 
lead, or zinc-white, ground in oil, and used very thick, but it takes a very long 
time to harden sufficiently. 

The best plan is to place the mended object in some store room, and not to 
look after it for several weeks, or even months. After that time it will be found 
so firmly united that, if ever again broken, it will not part on the line of the 
former fracture. For articles desired for immediate use, white lead is not 
adapted. 

Riee Flonr Cement. — A very convenient cement can be made from 
that simple substance, rice flour. Mix the rice flour well with cold water and 
let it gently simmer over a fire, and it will form a nice and lasting white cement 
which will answer all purposes of common paste, and is also excellent in uni- 
ting paper cards, etc., in the many useful and ornamental styles which ladies 
like to adopt in such employments. When made of the consistence of plaster 
clay, models, busts, etc., may be formed of it, and these articles when dry can 
be made to retain polish and are very durable. 

Ma§tie Cement. — According to Bottger, these cements are mixtures of 
one hundred parts of sand, limestone and litharge (yellow protoxide of lead) 
with seven parts of linseed oil. At first the mixture has little coherence, but 
when pressed, it gradually acquires the hardness of ordinary sand stone. 

Waterproof Cement. — Take half a pint each of good vinegar and sweet 
milk ; mix, and after it has stood awhile, separate the curd from the whey, and 



196 CEMENTS AND CEMENTING. 

to the latter add the whites of five eggs, and after beating well together sift into 
this a sufficient quantity of quicklime to make a thick paste. Broken plates and 
other dishes mended with this cement will stand both fire and water. It should 
be used as soon as prepared. 

liitliarge Cement. — For cementing small tanks the best material is, per- 
haps, composed of equal measures of litharge, sand and plaster of Paris, made 
into a paste with boiled linseed oil. 

Clay Cement. — A cement to resist great heat or boiling water may be 
made as follows : To four or five parts of clay, thoroughly dried and pulver- 
ized, add two parts of fine iron filings free from oxide, one part of peroxide of 
manganese, one-half of common salt, and one-half of borax ; mingle thoroughly ; 
render as fine as possible ; then reduce to a thick paste with the necessary 
quantity of water, mixing well. It must be used immediately. 

After application, it should be exposed to warmth, gradually increasing almost 
to a white heat. This cement is very hard, and presents complete resistance 
alike to a red heat and boiling water. 

Another Formula. — Clay well dried and powdered to a fine dust, then 
mixed with boiled linseed oil. This cement has the claim of lasting for years. 

Dry Cement. — A dry cement, which is recommended as resisting weather 
equal to stone, is made of two parts of sifted ashes, three parts clay, and one 
part sand, mixed with oil. This must be used before it begins to harden. 

Clime§e Cement. — The Chinese make a paste out of quicklime and the 
blood of a bullock, using one pound of lime to ten of blood. It becomes a stiff 
jelly, and may be kept in this state and beaten down with an addition of water, 
to a proper consistency, when wanted for use. 

Lime Cement. —A very cheap and good cement for filling cracks in 
wood where unsightly may be made as follows : Moisten a piece of recently 
burnt lime with enough water to make it fall into powder ; mix one part of the 
slaked lime with two parts of rye flour, and a sufficient quantity of boiled linseed 
oil to form a thick, plastic mass. 

Acid Proof Cement. — A cement that is acid proof is made with a con- 
centrated solution of silicate of soda, formed into a paste with powdered glass. 
This simple mixture is said to be invaluable in the operations of the laboratory 
where a luting is required to resist the action of acid fumes. 

Another Formula. — Take one part pitch, one part resin, and one part 
of plaster of Paris. Melt together the first two, then add the plaster and mix 
thoroughly. The ingredients must be perfectly dry to get the desired result. 

<>relatine Cement. — The following is a valuable cement, which, if prop- 
erly applied, will be insoluble even in boiling water : Gelatine, five parts, solu- 
ble acid chromate of Kme one part. Cover the broken edges with this, press 
lightly together and expose to the sunlight ; the effect of the latter being to ren- 
der the compound insoluble 



CEMENTS AND CEMENTING. I97 

Alum and Plaster. — These two materials mixed make a very good 
cement for common use. The better way is to make a strong alum water, and 
wet the plaster of Paris with it to the proper consistency. 

Cement for Leakag^es. — Beat yellow soap and whiting with a little 
water, into a thick paste. Rub this over the part where the leakage is, and it 
will be instantly stopped. 

Cement for Amber, — A solution of hard copal in pure ether, of the 
consistency of castor-oil, is suggested by Rust for cementing amber. The 
carefully cleaned surfaces of fractures, coated 'with the solution, should be 
pressed together, and retained in contact by means of a string wound round 
the object, or in some other suitable way. 

The operation should be performed as rapidly as possible, since the evap- 
oration of the ether impairs the adhesiveness of the cement ; so that all 
arrangements for compressing the object should be made before laying on 
the cement. A few days are required for the complete hardening of it. In 
repairing tubes, as for pipes, any of the solution happening to pass into the 
interior should be carefully removed at once with a slender^ feather. 

White Cements. — In addition to the use of white lead, zinc paint, and 
rice flour as white cements, the following is given : For large objects, bees- 
wax, one ounce ; resin, four ounces ; powdered plaster of Paris, five ounces. 
Melt the first two together and then add the plaster, mixing thoroughly. 
Warm the edges of the articles to be united and apply the cement warm. 
Second : Dissolve seventy-five parts of India rubber in sixty parts of chloro- 
form or benzine, and add to the solution fifteen parts of mastic. This 
cement will be very nearly transparent. Third : Make a very strong solution of 
gum arable in water, and stir into it plaster of Paris until the mixture be- 
comes of the proper consistency. Warm the edges of your china and apply 
the cement ; press firmly together. Let it stand three days, when it will be 
solid. 

Elastic Cement. — Ordinary collodion is made by m.ixing eight parts 
of gun cotton with one hundred and twenty-five parts of ether and eight 
parts of alcohol. When used as a cement it becomes very hard, cracks 
easily, and peels off. K may be rendered elastic by the addition of four parts 
of Venetian turpentine and two parts of castor oil. 

When intended for surgical purposes, as a varnish, which, when dry, forms a 
perfectly close fitting plaster, it has been found that the addition of some gly- 
cerine to the ordinary collodion, in which it is dissolved to a small extent, 
makes a varnish which adheres strongly to the skin, does not crack, and on ac- 
count of its elasticity, does not crease the skin. 

Hard Cement. — A cement which becomes excessively hard in time may 
be prepared by mixing two parts of silica, one part of silicate of alumina, and 
nine or ten parts of carbonate of lime, all in powder, and then roasting in a 



198 CEMENTS AND CEMENTING. 

puddling- furnace. The remaining mass is then to be ground and again roasted 
with two or three parts of carbonate of baryta. 

In practice, very pure sand will answer for the silica and chalk for the car- 
bonate of Hme, the remaining ingredients being supplied by natural carbonate 
of baryta. 

Red. Lead Cement. — Red lead and white lead mixed equal parts with 
boiled linseed oil to the proper consistency, make a very good cement for using 
upon material of pink color. 

Cement for MarMe. — Sift plaster of Paris through muslin, and mix it 
with shellac dissolved in alcohol or naphtha. As soon as mixed apply quickly 
and squeeze out as much of the composition as possible, wiping off that which 
squeezes out before it sets. 

The cement will hold better if the parts to be joined are roughened by a 
pointed tool before cementing. This can be done without breaking off the 
edges of the fractured parts. Plaster of Paris used with white of egg also 
makes a good cement, but it must be used with expedition. 

Cement for Clotli. — The following is said to be an excellent method of 
fastening cloth to the tops of tables, desks, etc. : Make a mixture of two and 
one-fourth pounds of wheat flour, two tablespoonfuls of powdered resin, and 
two tablespoonfuls of powdered alum ; rub the mixture in a suitable vessel, 
with water, to a uniform, smooth paste ; transfer this to a small kettle over a 
fire, and stir until the paste is perfectly homogeneous without lumps. 

As soon as the mass has become so stiff that the spoon will remain upright 
in it, transfer it to another vessel and cover it up so that no skin may form on 
its surface. This cement, applied in a very thin layer to the surface of the table, 
the cloth, or leather, is then laid and pressed upon it, and smoothed with a 
roller. The ends are cut off after drying. 

Storm Cement. — Three bushels of clean sand, mingled with half a 
bushel of good lime and half a bushel of cement, make an excellent mortar, 
which is not liable to be dislodged by storms. Or a good out of door cement 
may be made of three bushels of coal ashes, mixed with two of gas lime, and 
made into stiff mortar with gas tar, spread on a level bed of small stones, well 
rammed down, produce a good pavement for a stable floor. 

Cement for Mnife Handles. — A good cement, for fastening blades of 
dinner-knives in ivory handles, consists of resin four parts, beeswax one part, 
plaster of Paris or brick dust one part. Fill the hole in the handle with the 
cement, heat the tang of the blade, then press it in. Pulverized resin is some- 
times used alone, but the combination is better. 

Anotlier Formnla. — One pound of colophony (purchasable at the drug- 
gists) and eight ounces of sulphur, which are to be melted together and either 
kept in bars or reduced to powder. One quart of the powder is to be mixed with 
half a quart of iron filings, fine sand or brick dust, and the cavity of the handle 



CEMENTS AND CEMENTING. I99 

is then filled with this mixture. The stem of the knife or fork is then to be 
heated and inserted into the cavity ; and when cold it will be found fixed in its 
place with great tenacity. 

Roof Cement. — Four parts of coal tar, one of air slaked stone or shell lime 
and one of hydraulic cement or water lime. The cost of the materials is about 
three or four cents per gallon — a quantity sufficient for a large roof costing only 
a trifle. Pour the tar into an iron pot over a slow fire, and when moderately 
hot, sift in the lime and the cement. Stir and mix well. Apply it warm. A 
second coat will be w^ell, to make sure the covering of all the leaky cracks and 
to increase its durabilit} . To improve the color and utility, sift on a coat of 
white or yellow dry sand soon, or about as fast as it is put on, as it soon 
becomes hard. 

Cement for Silk. — For uniting sheet gutta percha to silk or other 
fabrics : gutta percha, forty pounds ; caoutchouc, three pounds ; shellac, three 
pounds ; Canada balsam or Venice turpentine, fourteen pounds ; liquid styrax, 
thirty-five pounds ; gum mastic, four pounds ; oxide of lead, one pound. 

In making the cement the Venice turpentine should be first heated ; then 
the gutta percha and the shellac should be added ; the order in which the other 
materials are added is not important. Care should be taken to thoroughly in- 
corporate them, and the heat should be cautiously regulated so as not to burn 
the mixture. Any desired quantity, of course, can be made by usmg materials 
in same proportions. 

Pitch Cement, — Melt together in an iron pan two parts of common pitch 
and one of gutta percha, stirring them until thoroughly incorporated, and then 
pour the liquid into cold water. When cold, it is black, solid, and elastic ; 
but it softens wdth heat, and at ioo° Fahr. is a thin fluid. It may be used as a 
soft paste or in a liquid state, and answers an excellent purpose in cementing 
metal, glass, porcelain, ivory, etc. It may be used instead of putty in glazing 
windows. 

Cement for Jewels. — The jewelers in Turkey ornament watch cases 
and other trinkets with gems, by gluing them on. The stone is set in silver or 
gold, and the back of the setting made flat to correspond with the part to which 
it is to be applied. It is then fixed on with the following cement : 

Isinglass, soaked in water till it swells up and becomes soft, is dissolved in 
French brandy or rum, so as to form a strong glue ; two small bits of gum 
galbanum, or gum ammoniacum, are dissolved in two ounces of this by tritura- 
tion, and five or six bits of mastic as big as pears, being dissolved in as much 
alcohol as will render them fluid, are to be mixed with this by means of a gentle 
heat. 

This cement is to be kept in a bottle, closely stopped ; and when used, it 
is to be liquefied by immersing the vial in hot water. This cement resists 
moisture. 



200 CEMENTS AND CEMENTING. 

Aquarium Cement. — In addition to those cements given in this depart- 
ment that are insoluble in water, I add the following : Make a mixture of a so- 
lution of eight ounces of strong glue and one ounce of varnish, one of linseed 
oil, or three quarters of an ounce of Venice turpentine, which are to be boiled 
together, agitating all the time, until the mixture becomes as complete as pos- 
sible. The pieces to be cemented ought to be kept in conjunction for forty- 
eight or sixty hours. 

Second Formula. — One part (measure) of litharge, one part plaster of 
Paris, one part fine beach sand, one third of powdered resin (fine) ; mix well. 
This will keep for years if corked in a bottle ; when used, make in a putty with 
boiled linseed oil. 

Third Formula. — Take two parts of white lead, one part of red lead, 
one part litharge ; then with boiled linseed oil mix to the proper thickness. 
This cement is particularly adapted for use upon cloth. Coat a piece of flannel 
with it, and paste it into a corner of the aquarium, or wherever there is a leakage. 

Fourth Formula. — A very powerful cement is composed in the propor- 
tion of two ounces of sal ammoniac, and four ounces of sulphur, made into a 
stiff paste with a little water. When the cement is wanted for use, dissolve a 
portion of the paste in water, rendered slightly acid, and add a quantity of iron 
turnings or filings, sifted or powdered, to render the particles of uniform size. 
This mixture will, in a short time, become as hard as stone. 

Fifth Formula. — If clay and oxide of iron be mixed with oil, according 
to Mr. Gad, of Stockholm, they will form a cement that will harden under 
water. 

Chee§e Lime Cement. — To make this, the curds of milk are mixed with 
lime — equal parts. A similar compound is formed of cheese and lime mixed 
with water or skim milk. This is used in England by some mechanics as a putty 
for joiners' work, and as a material for molding. It is known as cheese lime. 

C»ra§fitters' Cement. — Take five pounds of resin, one pound of beeswax, 
one pound of red ocher and one fourth pound of plaster of, Paris. Mix 
thoroughly. Fine brick dust may take the place of plaster and ocher. 

To Cement Tortoise Shells. — Provide a pair of pincers, the tongs of 
which will reach four inches beyond the rivet. Now file the tortoise shell clean 
to a lap joint, carefully observing that there be no grease about it. Wet the 
joint with water ; apply the pincers hot, following them with water, and the 
shell will be found to be joined, as if it were originally one piece. 

Cement for Lamps. — Where the brass tops of lamps have become 
loosened, it is not commonly considered a very easy job to secure them firmly 
in place again. Plaster of Paris is used more than any other one material, but 
that is so porous and so quickly becomes penetrated by the oil, that it loses its 
adhesive power. The following has been extensively used, and, if rightly made 
and applied, will not disappoint the one who employs it. 



CEMENTS AND CEMENTING. 201 

Boil three parts of resin with one part of caustic soda and five parts of water, 
which, if mixed with one half its weight of plaster of Paris, will make a cement 
which is not permeable by petroleum ; it sets firmly in a short time and is not 
a good conductor of heat. 

Cement for Stone. — The combination of red and white lead with boiled 
linseed oil and litharge, make a good cement for joining stones of any size. It 
should be used by dressing a strip of thin cloth on each side and placing this 
between the parts to be joined. The stone should be warmed, if possible. This 
cement will resist boiling water. As to proportions, there is no regular formula. 
To dry quickly, red lead should be used in greater proportions. If there is no 
hurry, white lead should be used in excess. I prefer the white lead when ample 
time can be given for drying. Equal parts of oil and litharge may be used. 

Another Formula. — Seven or eight parts of resin and one of beeswax, 
melted together, and mixed with a small quantity of plaster of Paris, is a very 
good cement to unite pieces of stone. The stone should be made hot enough 
to melt the cement, and the pieces should be pressed together as closely as pos- 
sible, so as to leave as little as may be of the cement between them. This is a 
general rule in cementing, as the thmner the strata of cement interposed, the 
firmer it will hold. 

Still Another Formula. — There is a preparation called cheese cement 
which is insoluble in water, but so much trouble is required to make it that it is 
not much used. The cheese should be that of skimmed milk, cut into slices, 
throwing away the rind, and boiled till it becomes a strong glue, which, how- 
evei. does not dissolve in the water. This water being poured off, it is to be 
washed in cold water, and then kneaded in warm water. This process is to be 
repeated several times. The glue is then to be put warm on a levigating stone, 
and kneaded with quicklime. This cement may be used cold, but it is better to 
warm it ; and it will join marble, stone, or earthenware, so that the joinmg is 
scarcely to be discovered. 

Cement for Hones. — This is made of common cabinet glue melted 
with half its weight of resin and the addition of a little red ocher to give 
it a body. This is particularly useful for cementing hones to their frames in 
new work, or when they have become loosened, if well cleaned before applying 
the material. 

Cement for Leather. — Of the many substances lately brought very con- 
spicuously to notice for fastening pieces of leather together, and in mending 
harness, joining machinery belting, and mending shoes, one of the best is made 
by mixing ten parts of sulphide of carbon with one of oil of turpentine, and then 
adding enough gutta percha to make a tough, thickly-flowing liquid. 

One essential prerequisite to a thorough union of the parts, consists in free- 
dom of the surface to be joined from grease. This may be accomplished by 
laying a cloth upon them and applying a hot iron for a time. The cement is 



202 CEMENTS AND CEMENTING. 

then applied to both pieces, the surfaces broug-ht in contact, and pressure ap- 
plied until the joint is dry. 

Water-proof Cement for L-eatlier. — I am told that a good water- 
proof cement or glue, for holding wood or leather, may be made by dissolving 
fine shreds of India rubber in warm copal varnish. The material to be united 
should be made clean, and be perfectly dry at the time of applying the cement. 

Cement for ISeltJng. — A cement for leather belting : Common glue and 
isinglass, equal parts, soaked for ten hours in just enough water to cover them ; 
bring gradually to a boiling heat and add pure tannin until the whole becomes 
Topy, or appears like the white of eggs. Buff off the surfaces to be joined, 
apply this cement, and clamp firmly. 

Anotlier Formula. — Take of common glue and American isinglass, 
equal parts ; place them in a boiler, and add water sufficient to just cover the 
whole. Let it soak ten hours, then bring to a boiling heat, and add pure tan- 
Tiin \mtil the whole becomes ropy or appears like the white of eggs. Apply 
it warm. Buff the grain of the leather where it is to be cemented ; rub the 
joint surfaces solidly together, let it dry a few hours, and it is ready for prac- 
tical use ; and if properly put together, it will not need riveting. 

ISulpliide of Carbon Cement. — A good material for cementing leather 
is made of ten parts sulphide of carbon, one part of oil of turpentine with enough 
gutta percha to make a thick, flowing liquid. It should be remembered that 
leather filled with grease cannot be cemented as it should be, and v/here the 
parts to be united contain oil, trim them well, fold a cloth over them, and apply 
a hot iron for a short time, then apply the cement to both parts, and press to- 
gether until entirely dry. 

Heat-proof Leather Cement. — A leather cement may be made which 
will stand both heat and alcohol : Take the best kind of glue ; pour on an equal 
quantity of water ; let it soak overnight ; next morning melt it over a gentle 
heat, and add fine Paris white, or white lead ; mix well, and add a little acetic 
acid, carbolic acid, oil of cloves, or any other ethereal oil, to prevent putrefac- 
tion. This cement is well adapted for flexible objects. It will not withstand 
boiling water well, as this softens the glue. 

\¥liite Olue Leather Cement. — Prepare a solution of two hundred 
parts of white glue in water ; another one of fifty parts of isinglass ; three of 
gum arable, and three of tragacanth ; and finally, another of one part of bleached 
shellac in alcohol. Then pour these three solutions together, mix them with 
twenty-four parts of white lead, and, at the last, twelve parts of the best glycer- 
ine, and two hundred parts of alcohol. The mastic thus obtained should be 
immediately put up in bottles and well corked. 

^imtta Percha Cement for Leather. — A good gutta percha cement 
is made by dissolving gutta percha in chloroform in quantity to make a fluid of 
-honey-like consistency. When spread it will dry in a few minutes. Heat the 



CEMENTS AND CEMENTING. 203 

surface at a fire or gas flame until softened, and apply them together. Small 
patches of leather can be thus cemented on boots, etc., so as almost to defy 
-detection, and shoemakers employ it with great success for this purpose. It 
is water-proof, and will answer almost ever}^where, unless exposed to heat, 
which softens it. 

Cement for Rubber. — A cement, made by dissolving rubber cut fine in 
benzine, may be used to mend rubber boots and shoes. This cement will 
iirmly fasten on the rubber patch. Put the pieces of rubber in a wide mouthed 
bottle and fill it about half full of the purest benzine ; the rubber will swell up 
almost immediately, and if well shaken will, in a few days, assume the consi; - 
tency of honey. 

If the rubber does not dissolve add more benzine. If, when dissolved, the 
cement is too thin, add more gum. A piece of rubber one inch in diameter 
Avill make a pint of cement. This dries in a few minutes and is very useful in 
uniting pieces of leather, as it is both elastic and durable. 

Another Formula. — Powdered shellac is softened in ten times its 
Aveight of strong water of ammonia, whereby a tran<5parent m.ass is obtained, 
Avhich becomes fluid after keeping some little time without the use of hct water. 
In three cr four weeks the mixture is perfectly liquid, and, when applied, it will 
he found to soften the rubber. 

As soon as the ammonia evaporates the rubber hardens again — it is said 
quite firmly — and thus becomes impervious both to gases and to liquids. For 
cementing sheet rubber, or rubber material in any shape, to metal, glass and 
other smooth surfaces, the cement is highly recommended. 

As rubber plates and rings are nowadays almost exclusively used for 
making connections between steam and other pipes and apparatus, much annoy- 
ance is often experienced by the impossibility or imperfectness of an air tight con- 
nection. This is obviated entirely by employing the above. 

Marine Cement for €rlas§. — To cement glass letters, a thick solution 
of marine glue in good naphtha will answer if color is no object. But the glass 
must be chemically clean, and this is not always easy. The least trace of soap 
or grease will spoil the adhesion of any cement. Try soda or ammonia, follow- 
ing by whiting and water, clean cloths, and plenty of rubbing, and let the 
cement dry on the letters till the surface just begins to be "tacky " before you 
apply them. 

Balsam of Fir Cement for Olass. — This makes a very good cement 
when not exposed to heat. It is to be warmed and applied to the glass, pre- 
viously warmed. It is used for cementing lenses, mounting microscopic ob- 
jects, etc., and does very well for broken glass which is not to be washed in 
warm water. The thicker the balsam the stronger ; when too thin, it may be 
thickened by gentle evaporation. 

Crum Arable Cement for 01as§. — If to a strong solution of gum 



204 CEMENTS AND CEMENTING. 

arabic, measuring eight and one-half fluid oz., a solution of thirty grains sul- 
phate of aluminum, dissolved, two-thirds ounce of water be added, a very strong 
mucilage is formed, capable of fastening porcelain or glass. 

Kourie Cement for Crlass. — A gum has been introduced into the trade, 
obtained from trees in New Zealand ; it is called kourie, and has been found 
to be a most excellent, strong and water-proot cement for calking tanks and 
cementing pieces of glass, stone or wood together. Before using, it is fused 
and mixed with one-third part of its weight of castor oil. 

Olycerine Cement for €rlass. — A cement for bottle tops, that wili 
keep the most volatile liquids from evaporating, may be made by mixing finely 
ground litharge and concentrated glycerine. It dries quickly, becomes very 
hard, and is easily removed with a knife. Glycerine also mixed with gelatine 
imparts to it many useful qualities. It answers well to hermetically seal bottles. 
It will solidify on cooling, without losing its ductility. 

Diamond Cement. — Isinglass one ounce, distilled vinegar five and a 
half ounces, spirits of wine two ounces, gum ammoniacum half an ounce, gum: 
mastic half an ounce. Mix well. 

Aleohol Cement for Olass. — Dissolve shellac in alcohol and evapo- 
rate until a paste is formed as thick as honey. Apply to the broken edges of 
glass with a fine brush. This will do for common usage, but not for glass table 
ware, as the shellac will dissolve in warm water. 

Tumbler Cement. — For cracked or broken tumblers white lead is as- 
good as anything, provided they are to be used simply for storage of jellies, 
etc. They should be repaired long enough in advance to allow time for thor- 
oughly drying. 

Caseine Cement for €rlas§. — A cement to stop cracks in glass vessels,, 
which will resist moisture and heat, is made by dissolving caseine in a cold 
saturated solution of borax. With this solution paste strips of hog's or bullock's 
bladder, softened in water, on the cracks of glass, and dry at a gentle heat. If 
the vessel is to be heated, coat the bladder on the outside, before it has become 
quite dry, with a paste of a rather concentrated solution of soda and quicklime 
or plaster of Paris. 

Hot Cement for (xlass. — To cement glass, cut three parts of good 
India rubber into small shreds ; dissolve it by agitation in thirty-four parts of 
cold naphtha. Add to this sixty-four parts of shellac in fine powder, and 
heat the whole, with constant stirring, until the shellac is dissolved. Then 
pour it while hot on metal plates, to form sheets. When required for use, heat 
to 250 degrees Fah., and apply quickly, or dissolve seventy-five parts India rub- 
ber in sixty parts of chloroform or benzine, and add to the solution fifteen parts 
of mastic. 

Bottle Cement, — When a cement is to answer only a temporary purpose, 
as for instance in making the corks or stoppers of bottles perfectly air and 



CEMENTS AND CEMENTING. 205 

vapor tight, it will not do to employ a kind which becomes very hard, as is the 
case with oil and lead compounds, nor again, other kinds, such as wax and 
resin, which are softened by many chemical vapors. The best cement in such 
cases is red lead, or finely powdered litharge mixed with undiluted glycerine. 
This hardens soon enough, and when required, can be easily removed. 

Another Formula. — Resin fifteen parts, tallow four (or wax three) parts, 
highly dried red ocher six parts, or lampblack sufficient to give color, 

Ceiiieiit§ for Iron Pipes. — A cement for closing joints in iron pipes 
may be made by taking of coarsely powdered iron borings, five pounds ; sal 
ammoniac, two ounces ; sulphur, one ounce, and water sufficient to moisten and 
mix. The cement hardens quickly with the sulphur in, but not so firmly as 
when left out. If time can be spared, it is better to use the iron and sal am- 
moniac alone. It should be used in any case as soon as mixed and pounded 
firmly into the crack. 

Cements for Iron and Stone. — Glycerine and litharge stirred to a paste 
hardens rapidly, and makes a suitable cement for iron upon iron, for two stone 
surfaces, and especially for fastening iron to stone. The cement is insoluble, 
and is not attacked by strong acids. 

A preparation varying from this has been used for years by M. Pollac, of 
Eantzen, Saxony. He has employed the cement made of pure oxide of lead, 
litharge and glycerine in concentrated state. He has used it to fasten the dif- 
ferent portions of a fly wheel with great success ; while, when placed between 
stones and once hardened, it is easier to break the stone than the joint. 

Fire-proof Iron Cement. — A cement for filling up cracks and holes in 
stoves is finely pulverized binoxide of magnesia, mixed with a strong solution 
of siHcate of soda (water clay), so it forms a thick paste ; fill the cracks and 
heat the stove slowly. 

Cement for Stoves. — Wood ashes and common salt, wet with water, 
will stop the crack of a stove. 

Cement for Steam Pipe Joints. — Take white lead, ground in oil, a 
sufficient quantity. Add dry red lead enough to make a stiff putty. Put the 
mass in a mortar or on a block of iron or smooth stone, and pound it till it be- 
comes soft ; continue to add red lead and pound until the mass will no longer 
become softer by pounding, nor stick to the fingers. At this time it should be 
of sufficient tenacity to stretch out three or four inches when pulled, without 
parting. 

The more protracted the pounding, the softer, finer, and more tenacious the 
cement becomes. Interpose this putty between the flanges of the steam pipe 
joints, taking care to put a thin grommet of packing or wicking around the 
diameter of the bore, to keep the cement from squeezing through when the 
flanges are screwed together. It is indestructible by steam or water, and 
makes one of the best joints known to the engineer. 



2o6 TO STAIN WOOD, IRON, HORN, ETC. 

Another Formula. — The following mixture, it is said, makes a cement 
impermeable by air or water, hot or cold : Six parts of finely powdered graphite, 
three parts slaked lime and eight parts of sulphur, are mixed with seven parts of 
boiled oil. The mass must be well kneaded until the mixture is perfect. 

Iron to Wood Cement. — Iron may be cemented into wood by drop- 
ping in the recess prepared in the latter, a small quantity of strong solution of 
sal ammoniac. This causes the iron to rust, rendering it very difficult to extract. 

Stove-pipe Cement. — Little breaks, cracks or crevices may be stopped 
by making a cement of wood ashes and common salt, as for stoves, and yet it 
is the best way to cast aside all defective lengths and purchase new. All of the 
joints above the second floor should be riveted together. They may be taken 
down and carried out in a body, and cleaned by attaching a swab to the end of 
a pole. 

Movable Joint Cement. — Where a joint in iron is to be occasionally- 
opened, a cement may be made of white and red lead, equal parts, ground in 
linseed oil and spread on canvas or woolen, and put between the parts. 

Iron Retorts Cement. — Take fifteen parts fire clay, one part saleratus,. 
and mix into a thick paste with water. It should be applied when the retort 
has been heated for working. After applying the cement, coat it over with fine 
coal dust. Work may be resumed at once. 

Cast Iron Cement. — For general purposes upon cast iron, the following- 
is said to be a good formula for cement. The substances, however, have been 
given in previous items. 

Take of sal ammoniac, two ozs. ; flowers of sulphur, one oz. ; clean cast iron 
borings or filings, sixteen ozs. ; mix them well in a mortar, and keep them dry. 

When required for use, take one part of this powder and twenty parts of 
clean iron borings or filings, mix thoroughly in a mortar, make the mixture into 
a stiff paste with a little water, and apply it between the joints, and screw them 
together. A little fine grindstone sand added improves the cement. 



TO STAIN WOOD, IRON, HORN, ETC. 



To Stain Boxwood Brown. — Heat the wood by the fire until it has 
a gentle warmth ; then apply aquafortis with a feather evenly over the surface, 
until the desired shade is obtained ; then oil and polish. 

To Stain Blaek Walnut Color. — The Northeastern Lumbermaii rec- 
ommends the following manner of staining pine to represent black walnut : 
Put pulverized asphaltum into a bowl with about twice its bulk of turpentine 
and set where it is warm, shaking from time to time until dissolved ; then strain 
and apply with either a cloth or a stiff brush. 



TO STAIN WOOD, IRON, HORN, ETC. 20/ 

Try a little first, and if the stain be too dark, thin it with turpentine. If de- 
sirable to bring out the grain still more, give a coat of boiled oil and turpentine. 

When the wood is thoroughly dry, polish with a mixture of two parts shellac 
varnish and one part boiled oil. Apply by putting a few drops at a time on a. 
cloth and rubbing briskly over the wood. 

Second Metliod. — The appearance of walnut may be given to white- 
woods, by painting or sponging them with a concentrated warm solution of per- 
manganate of potassa. The effect is different on different kinds of timber ; 
some becoming stained very rapidly, others requiring more time for this result. 
The permanganate is decomposed by the woody fiber ; brown peroxide of man- 
ganese is precipitated, which is afterward removed by washing with water. 
The wood, when dry, may be varnished, and will be found to resemble very 
closely the natural dark woods. 

Tkird Method. — Use burnt umber ; which can be had in the dry state at 
any paint shop. It may be mixed — simply stirred up thoroughly — with water 
or with ale. Ale does not dry so quickly, and allows of more thorough rubbing 
in. You will find that, while the wood is stained, the "grain" is preserved, 
and will be brought out by the varnish in a manner that will surprise those who 
have never done such work. If you wish the job to be extra nice, put on a 
second coat of varnish, a little at a time ; rub it dry with an oiled woolen rag, 
and you will have a hard, smooth finish. 

Darkening Butternut. — An imitation of walnut is made by washing 
butternut wood with lime water and then varnishing. Lime water will also 
stain cherry wood to a good imitation of mahogany. 

To Stain Etoony Color. — An excellent black stain may be got by a 
mixture of pounded asphalt and mineral naphtha. The proportions must be 
according to the degree of blackness required, the more the asphalt the blacker 
the stain ; but as it is very volatile, it must be mixed in a corked bottle and laid 
on quickly with a brush. Drop a little sulphuric acid into a small quantity of 
water, brush over the wood and hold to the fire ; it will be a fine black and re- 
ceive a good polish. 

Another Method. — Take half a pound or so, according to size of the 
job, of logwood chips, and boil them with water until the extract is of a very 
dark color ; put on three coats of this extract when boiling hot, allowing the 
work to get dry, and lightly sand papering after each coat. Then put some 
rusty nails into a stone ware jar and pour over them some strong vinegar ; allow 
the nails to remain a few days ; brush the solution over the wood, which will im- 
mediately become jet black. When dry it will be of a dull bluish black, but a 
coat of shellac will again make it like ebony. Before applying the varnish, rub 
down the table with No. 9 sand paper. 

To Stain Wood Black. — Apple, pear, and walnut wood, if fine grain- 
ed, may be stained black by the following process : Boil in a glazed or enam- 



2o8 TO STAIN WOOD, IRON, HORN, ETC. 

cled iron vessel with water four ounces of ground gall-nuts, one ounce of log- 
wood chips, and half an ounce each of green vitriol and crystals of verdigris. 
Filter while warm, and brush the wood over with this repeatedly. Dry and 
brush over with strong cold solution of acetate of iron, and dry. Repeat this 
several times, and finally dry in an oven at a moderate temperature, and oil or 
varnish. 

Another Method. — To turn oak black, the wood should be immersed 
for forty-eight hours in a hot saturated solution of alum, and then brushed over 
several times with a logwood decoction, prepared as follows : Boil one part of 
best logwood with ten parts of water, filter through linen, and evaporate at a 
gentle heat until the volume is reduced one-half. 

To every quart of this add from ten to fifteen drops of a saturated solution of 
indigo, completely neutral. After applying this dye to the wood, rub the latter 
v/ith a saturated and filtered solution of verdigris in hot, concentrated acetic 
acid, and repeat the operation until a black of the desired intensity is obtained. 

JBlaek Stain to Polish. — Cover the wood with lampblack ground in 
gum arabic water, with a muller, and when it is dry, polish thoroughly, and it 
will look very well. Another way is to put little pieces of very rusty iron into 
good black ink, and let it stand two weeks ; after which, rub the wood with it, 
and it will penetrate ; then polish, and it will look beautiful. 

To Stain Wood Red. — Take half a pound of Brazil wood, a handful 
of quicklime and two handfuls of ashes ; let them steep for half an hour in 
water, and settle to the bottom ; then take a new earthen pot and put in the 
Brazil wood, with the lye made of lime and ashes, and having steeped it half an 
hour, boil it. 

Let it cool a little, and pour it into another new pot, adding to it half an 
ounce of gum arabic ; then put some rain water with a piece of alum into 
another pot or pan ; boil it, soak the wood in this alum water, then take it out 
and dry it, then warm your red color, and with a brush rub it as long as you 
think necessary ; then dry it and polish with a piece of ivory, and it will be of a 
shining scarlet color. 

Stain for a Violin. — Dragon's blood, two ounces ; spirits of wine, one 
quart. Digest with occasional agitation until dissolved. 

To Stain Mosewood and Cherry Color. — To imitate rosewood, a 
concentrated solution of hypermanganate of potassa is spread on the surface of the 
wood, and allowed to act until the desired shade is obtained. Five minutes 
suffice ordinarily to give a deep color. A few trials will indicate the proper 
proportions. On cherry, it gives a very beautiful red color. The color resists 
well the action of air and light, and the process is very short. 

A Purple Color for Wood. — Steep turnsole as is directed for violet 
color, and add to it the tincture of Brazil boiled in lime water. It makes an 
excellent purple. This ought to be varnished, both to beautify and preserve it. 



TO STAIN WOOD, IRON, HORN, ETC. 209 

To iStain Wood Blue. — Boil a quarter of a pound of turnsole for an 
hour in three pints of lime water, and color the wood with it. 

To ^taiii Wood Yellow. — According to Niedling, a beautiful orange- 
yellow tone may be imparted to oak wood by rubbing it in a warm room, with 
a mixture of about three ounces of tallow, three-fourths of an ounce of wax and 
one pint of oil of turpentine, mixed by heating together and stirring. It may 
be done also either with French berries, or with turmeric or saffron, or with 
merita earth, or a very small bit of aloes put into the varnish will make the 
wood of a good yellow color. 

To Stain Wood Violet Color. — Boil four ounces of Brazil and eight 
ounces of logwood together, in two quarts of water, with an ounce of common 
alum. Steep the wood in this. 

Another Method. — Temper Dutch turnsole with water, and strain it 
through a cloth. Before it is used on your work, try it on a piece of wood, to 
see if it is not too deep. When you have laid on the color, put some of the 
same color to a quantity of water, to render it very thin, and wash the wood 
with this till it becomes bright ; then dry it, burnish and varnish it. 

To Stain Mahogany Color. — Take half a pint of nitric acid, a piece of 
alum about the size of a walnut, and as much logwood as will give the 
desired color. 

Another Method. — Boil Brazil wood in a weak solution of alum ; strain 
and add a little potash. A good varnish for wood stained with this mixture 
may be made by dissolving amber in oil of turpentine, mixed with a small por- 
tion of linseed oil. 

Mahogany Color ^vith Pigments. — To make a very pretty, and yet 
cheap, mahogany colored paint, add a little lampblack to Venetian red and oil. 
I have used this for years. Varnished, it looks very well where the right shade 
is obtained. 

Another Method. — Burnt sienna, or Vandyke brown, finely ground in 
linseed oil and rubbed in with a flannel, will stain wood. The sienna gives a 
richer, red brown, the Vandyke brown a darker brown. The latter method 
may be used to stain any kind of wood, and is in many cases preferable to 
stains put on by watery decoctions of dye woods. 

To Stain Iron or Steel Brown. — Dissolve in four parts of water 
two parts of crystallized chloride of iron, two parts of chloride of antimony and 
one part of gallic acid, and apply the solution with a sponge or cloth to the 
article and dry it in the air. Repeat this any number of times, according to the 
depth of color which it is desired to produce. Wash with water and dry, and 
finally rub the articles over with boiled linseed oil. This metal thus receives a 
brown tint and resists moisture. The chloride of antimony should be as little 
acid as possible. 

To Stain Oaken Color, — An oaken color can be given to new wood 



2IO TO STAIN WOOD, IRON, HORN, ETC. 

by washing it in a solution of copperas dissolved in lye, a pound of the former 
to a gallon of the latter. When dry, this should be oiled, and it will look well 
for a year or two ; then renew the oiling. 

Another Method. — Equal parts of potash and pearlash, two ounces each 
to about one quart of water, give a good oak stain. Use carefully, as it will 
blister the hands. Add water if the color is too deep. 

To Imitate Old Oak. — The appearance of old oak may be obtained by 
exposing any article of new oak in the vapors of ammonia. Every variety of 
tint may be procured, according to the duration and temperature of the volatile 
compounds. A new oak carved chair, exposed to the vapors of ammonia, will, 
in about twelve hours, have all the appearance of having been made two hun- 
dred years before. 

Another Method. — To make oak paneling look like old oak, put some 
common soda into some hot water — let the solution be very strong — and sponge 
over two or three times with it. When it is quite dry, rub with fine emery 
paper, as the soda raises the grain of the wood, and finish off with the best 
linseed oil. 

To ^tain Floors Oak. — To strong lye of wood ashes, add enough 
copperas for the required oak shade. Put this on with a mop, and varnish 
afterward. 

Coloration for Veneering.— For making a good coloration of wood 
for veneering, it is necessary to make the color penetrate thoroughly, and to 
accomplish this the wood may be soaked for twenty-four hours in a solution of 
caustic soda, and finally boiled for half an hour ; on being washed and dipped 
in the color bath for twenty-four hours, it takes the color all through. 

To §tain Morn Tortoise Color. — A mixture of equal quantities of 
glue, lime and red lead, with strong soap lyes, is used to stain horn in imitation 
of tortoise shell. The mixture may be laid on with a small brush. It requires 
a little skill to lay it on in such a way as to make the mottling appear natural. 
The operation should be repeated two or three times, each time allowing the 
mixture to dry before another application. 

To Stain Oak Mahog'any Color. — Pour two quarts of boiling water 
over one ounce of commercial extract of logwood, and when it is dissolved add 
one dram of yellow chromate of potash, and stir well. This stain is cheap, 
keeps well, and can be applied cold with a brush without any preparation. 

To Stain Musieal Instruments Crimson. — Boil one pound of 
ground Brazil wood in three quarts of water for an hour ; strain it and add one 
half an ounce of cochineal ; boil it again for half an hour gently, and it will be 
fit for use. 

To Stain Musical Instruments Purple. — Boil one pound of chip 
logwood in three quarts of water for an hour ; then add four ounces of pearl- 
ash and two ounces of indigo pounded. 



TO STAIN WOOD, IRON, HORN, ETC. 211 

Stain for a Floor. — Sometimes one is desirous of staining a floor so that 
it shall have the appearance of being laid every other board of dark wood. 
This may be done by first scouring the floor perfectly clean and removing 
grease spots. Then apply to every other board a stain made of a quarter of a 
pound of asphaltum and half a pound of beeswax to one gallon of turpentine. 

If found too thin, add beeswax ; if too light in color, add asphaltum, though 
that must be done with caution, as very little will graduate the shade, and black 
walnut is not what its name indicates, but a rich, dark brown. Burnt umber 
in alcohol, to the proper consistency for easy application, may be used without 
the beeswax, and after a thin coat of shellac has been laid over the whole, and 
the surface smoothed over with sand paper, a coat of common varnish will give 
it a splendid finish. 

When staining a board, to prevent daubing, and to make the job look nice, 
take a thin piece of board a few inches wide, and plane one edge thin. This 
can be shoved along between the boards in the crack as the stain is applied. 

To Stain Ivory and Sone. — These may be stained with the ordinary 
dyeing materials. The body should first be steeped in the mordant, and then 
in a hot bath of coloring material. Bichloride of tin as a mordant will give red 
with Brazil wood or cochineal, yellow with fustic, violet with logwood. 

To Stain Horn Black. — Steep brass in aquafortis till it is turned green ; 
with this the horn is to be washed once or twice, and then put into a warmed 
decoction of logwood and water. 

Another Metliod. — Horns receive a deep black stain from solution of 
nitrate of silver. It ought to be diluted to such a degree as not sensibly to cor- 
rode the substance, and applied two or three times if necessary, at considerable 
intervals, the matter being exposed as much as possible to the sun, to hasten 
the appearance and deepening of the color. 

To Stain Horn ^reen. — First boil it in alum water, then with verdi- 
gris, ammoniac, and white wine vinegar, keeping it hot therein till sufficiently 
green. 

To Stain Horn Red. — Boil it in alum water, then with verdigris, am- 
moniac, and finished by decoction in a liquor compounded of quickhme steeped 
in rain water, strained, and to every pint, add an ounce of Brazil wood. In 
this decoction the horns are to be boiled till sufficiently red. 

To Stain Paper Oreen. — Paper or parchment may be stained green by 
a solution of verdigris in vinegar, or by the crystals of verdigris dissolved in 
water. 

To Stain Paper Purple. — Paper or parchment may be stained purple 
by archil, or by the tincture of logwood. The juice of ripe privet berries ex- 
pressed will likewise give a purple dye. 

To Stain Paper Crimson. — A very fine crimson stain may be given to 
paper by a tincture of the Indian lake, which may be made by infusing the lake 



212 RUST ON METALS. 

some days in spirit of wine, and then pouring off the tincture from the dregs. 
It may be stained red by red ink. 

To Stain Paper Orange. — Stain the paper or parchment first of a full 
yellow by means of the tincture of turmeric, then brush it over with a solution 
of fixed alicaline salt, made by dissolving one half ounce of pearlash, or salt of 
tartar, in a quart of water, and filtering the solution. 

To Stain Paper YelloWo — Paper may be stained a beautiful yellow by 
the tincture of turmeric formed by infusing an ounce or more of the root, pow- 
dered, in a pint of spirit of wine. This may be made to give any tint of yellow, 
from the lightest straw to the full color, called French yellow, and will be equal 
in brightness even to the best dyed silks. 

■ If yellow be wanted of a warmer or redder cast, annotto or dragon's blood 
must be added. The best manner of using these, and the preceding tinctures, 
is to spread them even on the paper or parchment, by means of a broad brush, 
in the manner of varnish. 



RUST ON METALS. 



To Clean Rusty Knives. — Where the knives have rusted by neglect, 
rub the blades over thoroughly with sweet oil ; allow this to remain as long as 
possible, a day or so at least, then rub the steel with leather coated with finely 
powdered unslaked lime or pumice stone. To keep them from rusting when 
not in daily use, dry them thoroughly, and roll up in a flannel cloth and keep it 
in a dry place. 

To Remove Iron Rust. — By allowing articles coated with red iron 
rust to remain a short time in kerosene oil, the rust can be readily removed by 
afterward rubbing for a few minutes with cork. 

To Clean a Rusty Plow. — Pour a quart of water slowly into a half 
pint of sulphuric acid. The mixture will become warm from chemical action ; 
put it on the iron and let it remain there until it evaporates. Then wash it 
again. The object of this is to give the acid time to dissolve the rust. Now 
wash with water, and you will see where the worst spots are. Apply some 
more acid, and rub on these spots with a brick. The acid and the scouring 
will remove most of the rust. Then wash the mold-iron thoroughly with water 
to remove the acid, and rub it dry. Brush it over with petroleum or other oil. 

To Clean Rusty Flat Irons. — Have a piece of yellow beeswax tied in 
a coarse cloth. When the iron is almost hot enough to use, but not quite, rub 
it quickly with the beeswax, and then with a clean coarse cloth. This will re- 
move it entirely, unless the rust has been upon the iron long enough to corrode 



RUST ON METALS. 21 3 

and eat into the polished surface. Fine glass paper, made after the manner of 
sand paper, is good for removing rust from iron or steel. 

To Prevent Steel Ru§tmg. — A simple way of preventing the oxida- 
tion of polished steel goods is to dust them over with quicklime. When arti- 
cles are required to be preserved for many months (such as polished steel 
grates) strips of paper freely covered with powdered lime are to be wrapped 
around the bars ; or they may be placed in cases and interstices filled up with 
quicklime. Piano-forte wires and small goods may be preserved in the same 
way. 

Another Way. — Mix with fat oil varnish four-fifths of well rectified spir- 
its of turpentine. Apply this varnish with a sponge, and the articles will retain 
their metallic brilliancy, and not be liable to rust ; or rub over the surface a 
mixture formed by melting together equal parts, by weight, of paraffine and 
beeswax. 

How to Renew Rusty Steelyards. — If the figures or marks on 
scale or steelyards get obscured by rust, rub them over with fine Bristol brick 
dust and flannel. The figures will come out bright as new. 

To Prevent Iron Rusting. — Melt fresh mutton suet ; smear over the 
irons with it while hot ; then dust it well with unslaked lime, powdered and 
tied up in muslin. When not used, wrap the irons in baize, and keep them in 
a dry place. Use no oil on them at any time, except salad oil. 

Another Method. — Moderately heated benzine dissolves half its weight 
of wax ; and if this solution -be carefully applied to the tool with a brush, the 
evaporation leaves a very adhesive and permanent coating of wax, which will 
preserve the metal even from the action of acid vapors. 

Kerosene for Preventing- Rust. — Kerosene applied by means of a 
moistened cloth to stoves, it is said, will effectually keep them from rusting. It 
is also an excellent material to apply to all iron utensils used about the prem- 
ises. 

Protecting Polished Surfaces. — Beeswax dissolved in benzine makes 
an excellent varnish for the protection of highly polished metallic surfaces. It 
may be applied with a brush. 

Another Method. — Rust may be kept from polished iron work by coat- 
ing the metal with a mixture consisting of copal varnish mixed with as much 
olive oil as will give it a degree of greasiness, adding thereto nearly as much 
spirits of turpentine as of varnish ; or varnish with wax dissolved in benzine, as 
given above. 

To Clean Rusted Orates. — Where rust has appeared upon grates or 
other iron fixtures exposed to heat, apply a mixture of tripoli, with half its quan- 
tity of sulphur, well ground together and laid on with a piece of soft leather ; 
or emery and oil may be applied with excellent effect. The last named will not 
only clean, but polish, so that whiting will not be required. 



214 TREATMENT OF BRASS ARTICLES. 

TREATMENT OF BRASS ARTICLES. 



Mow to Melt Brass, — To melt brass in an ordinary fire, put it into a 
sand crucible with a little borax, placing the crucible well down in the fire. 
How to Soften Brass. — To make brass soft, heat it to a low red and 

plunge in water. It cannot be hardened except by rolling or hammering. 

To Color Brass Blaek. — Make a strong solution of nitrate of silver in 
one dish and nitrate of copper in another. Mix the two together and plunge 
the brass into it. Now heat the brass evenly until the required degree of dead 
blackness is obtained. This is the method used by French instrument makers 
to produce the beautiful dead black color so much admired in optical instru- 
ments. 

To Hake Brass Brilliant. — Beat sal ammoniac into a fine powder, 
then moisten it with soft water, rubbing it on the ornaments, which must be 
heated over charcoal and rubbed dry with bran and whiting. 

Anotlier Metliod. — Wash the brass work with roche alum boiled in 
strong lye, in the proportion of an ounce to a pint. When dry it must be rub- 
bed with fine tripoli. Either of these processes will give to brass the brilliancy 
of gold 

To Bronze Brass Objects. — First clean and warm the articles, then 
wash over with a hot solution of ammonium chloride (sal ammonic), then place 
overnight in a diluted solution of two parts verdigris and one part ammonium 
chloride in six parts of vinegar. In the morning remove and wash. 

To Silver Brass Objects. — Mix three parts of chloride of silver with 
twenty parts of powdered cream of tartar and fifteen parts of powdered common 
salt. Moisten a suitable quantity of the mixture with water, and rub it with a 
piece of blotting paper upon the metallic object, which must be thoroughly 
clean. The latter is afterward rubbed with a piece of cotton upon which pre- 
cipitated chalk is dusted, then washed with water, and polished with a dry 
cloth. 

Anotlier Metbod. — Take one ounce of aquafortis and dissolve in it, over 
a moderate fire, one dram of good silver cut small or granulated ; this silver 
being wholly dissolved, take the vessel off the fire and throw into it as much 
white tartar as is required to absorb all the liquor. The residue is a paste, 
with which you may rub over any work made of copper, and which will give it 
the color of silver. 

To Clean Brass. — Rub the surface of the metal with rotten stone and 
sweet oil, then rub off with a piece of cotton flannel and polish with soft leather. 
A solution of oxalic acid rubbed over tarnished brass with a cotton rag soon 
removes the tarnish, rendering the metal bright. The acid must be washed off 
with water and the brass rubbed with whitening in powder and soft leather. 



MANAGEMENT OF STEEL ARTICLES. 21$ 

When acids are employed for removing the oxide from brass, the metal must 
be thoroughly washed afterward, or it will tarnish in a few minutes after being 
exposed to the air. A mixture of muriatic acid and alum dissolved in water 
imparts a golden hue to brass articles that are steeped in it for a few seconds. 

Polisli on Brass. — Owing to irregularities of surface, it often happens 
that difficulty is encountered in putting a good polish on articles of brass or 
copper. If, however, they be immersed in a bath composed of aquafortis one 
part, spirits of salt six parts, and water two parts, for a few minutes if small, or 
twenty or thirty if very large, they will become covered with a kind of black 
mud, which, on removal by rinsing, will display a beautiful lustrous under sur- 
face. Should the luster be deemed insufficient, the immersion maybe repeated, 
care being always taken to rinse thoroughly. All articles cleaned in this man- 
ner should be dried in hot, dry sawdust. 



MANAGEMENT OF STEEL ARTICLES. 



To Clean Steel Ornaments. — Dip a small brush into some paraffine 
oil and then into some emery powder — such as is used in the knife machines — ■ 
and we'l brush the ornaments, and all the rust will soon come off; polish with 
a dry leather and duster. 

To Restore "Burnt" §teel. — Small articles, such as punches, are 
very likely to lose their temper by exposure to heat. When this occurs, they 
may be restored by the following mixture : Two ounces of bichromate of 
potassa, one ounce of pure niter, one ounce of gum aloes, one ounce of gum 
arable, and two ounces of resin. The whole having been well powdered and 
mixed, the piece of steel is heated to a low red heat, and the powder put on. It 
is then heated again to a low red heat, and cooled. The steel will then be very 
hard again. The amount of niter may be doubled and that of the resin taken 
ten times larger ; this is said to produce a greater hardness. 

Ho^w to €rild Steel. — Dissolve pure gold in aqua regia, evaporate gently 
to dryness, so as to drive off the superfluous acid, redissolve in water, and add 
three times its bulk of sulphuric ether. Allow it to stand for twenty-four hours 
in a stoppered bottle, and the ethereal solution of gold will float at the top. 
Polished steel dipped in this is at once beautifully gilded, and by tracing pat- 
terns on the surface of the metal with any kind of varnish, beautiful devices in 
plain metal and gilt will be produced. 

To Weld Steel to Iron.— To make a good weld, the steel should be 
heated to a less degree than the iron, as it is more fusible. Sal ammoniac cleans 
dirt from steel, and borax causes it to fuse before it obtains that heat which 
will cause it to burn : consequently a mixture of these two substances form one 
of the best materials for welding. 



2l6 INKS AND INK MAKING. 

To Protect Polislied Steel. — A scientific journal claims that after dip- 
ping polished steel in a solution of common soda, one of soda to four of water, 
atmospheric influences will not change it. To renew it when corroded, brush 
with a paste composed of one-half ounce cyanide of potassium, half ounce Castile 
soap, one ounce whiting and water sufficient to form a paste. The steel should 
first be washed with a solution of half an ounce cyanide of potassium in two ounces 
of water. 



INKS AND INK MAKING. 



To Keep Infe from Molding. — Two or three drops of carbolic acid 
put into an ordinary bottle of ink will prevent the fluid molding. 

To Take Ink. from Floors. — Ink spots on floors can be extracted by 
scouring with sand wet in oil of vitriol and water. When the ink is removed 
rinse with strong pearlash water. 

To Remove Marking Ink. — Ordinary marking ink is removed by 
wetting with a solution of cyanide of potassium and afterward washing with 
water. The cyanide must be carefully handled, as it is a violent poison. 

To Remove Ink from Fabrics. — As soon as the accident happens, 
wet the place with juice of sorrel or lemon, or with vinegar, and the best hard 
white soap, or use a weak solution of oxalic acid. 

To Take Ink from Rooks. — First wash the paper with warm water, 
using a camel's hair pencil for the purpose. By this means the surface ink is 
got rid of ; the paper must now be wet with a solution of oxalate of potash, 
or better still, oxalic acid, in the proportion of one ounce to half a pint of water. 
The ink stains will immediately disappear. Finally, again wash the stained 
place with clean water, and dry it with white blotting paper. 

To Take Ink Out of a Carpet. — While the ink is fresh take a basin 
of sweet skimmed milk and a sponge ; pour the milk freely over the spots and 
then absorb it again with the sponge. Repeat this operation three or four 
times until the milk no longer blackens, and then wash the milk from the spot 
with a cloth and water, and not a stain will remain. If the stain is old, oxalic 
acid diluted and blotting paper may be used. 

To \%^rlte on Oreasy Paper. — Put to a bullock's gall one handful of 
salt, and one-fourth pint of vinegar, stir it until it is mixed well ; when the paper 
or parchment is greasy, put one drop of the gall into the ink, and the difficulty 
will be instantly obviated. 

To Remove Indelible Ink. — When the ink is made of a silver com- 
pound, a solution of cyanide of potassium will answer ; or a solution of cor- 
rosive sublimate and sal ammoniac, equal parts, in fifty to one hundred parts of 



INKS AND INK MAKING. 217 

water. It will take out all silver spots on cotton, linen, wool, and also from the 
hands. 

Ink for Marking- Tin. — An ink composed of copper one part, dissolved 
in ten parts nitric acid, ten parts water being afterward added, is useful for 
marking on tin or zinc plant labels. 

To Make Red "Writing Ink. — Take best carmine two grains, rain 
water one half ounce, water of ammonia twenty drops, and a little gum arabic. 

Another F^irmula. — Dissolve twenty-five parts, by weight, of saffranin, 
in five hundred parts of warm glycerine, then stir in carefully five hundred 
parts of alcohol and an equal quantity of acetic acid. It is then diluted with 
iiine thousand parts water, in which is dissolved a little gum arabic. 

To Make Blaek Writing Ink. — To five gallons of water at boiling 
heat, add one half pound logwood, one half ounce bichromate of potash, and 
one half ounce prussiate of potash. Your ink is then made and ready for use. 
The cost is six cents per gallon. Less amount in same proportions. 

Another Formula. — India ink dissolved' in water, makes an excellent 
writing fluid, better than most of the materials for sale at the stores. It flows 
-nicely and will keep for any length of time without deteriorating in quality. 
Some add one tenth volume of glycerine and shake well together. 

To Make Slue Writing Ink. — Take soft Prussian blue six parts and 
oxalic acid one part ; powder finely, add soft water enough to bring to thin 
paste ; let it stand a few days, then reduce to desired shade by adding water in 
which a little gum arabic has been dissolved. The common box, or prepared 
bluing, put in water, makes a very good writing fluid. 

To Make Oreen Writing Ink. — Dissolve one of the aniline greens in 
hot water to proper shade and add a few drops of clove oil. 

Another Formula. — For green ink, pound French berries, and steep un- 
til a good strong yellow is made, then put in enough of the prepared blue to get 
the desired shade of green. A little alum in a saffron decoction makes a fine 
yellow, which may be turned green by use of prepared indigo. 

The inner bark of black oak, steeped until a strong decoction of yellow is ob- 
iained, makes a beautiful green by addition of blue. 

To Make Violet Ink. — Eight parts of logwood and sixty-four parts of 
water ; boil down to one half original quantity, then strain and add one part of 
chloride of tin. 

To Make Magie Ink. — A solution of nitrate of chloride of cobalt, or 
choride of copper, mixed with a little gum or sugar, produces a " magic ink," 
which is made visible by warming, either by holding against the stove or over 
a burning match. Potassium ferrocyanide in solution may also be used ; but 
this requires a developer, for which either copper or iron sulphate may be em- 
ployed. With the former the writing will appear in brown, and with the latter 
in blue color. 



2l8 INKS AND INK HAKOfG. 

Black Indelible Ink. — Twelve and a half grains of nitrate of silver, a 
piece of gum arabic the size of a bean : put that into a vial with two teaspoon- 
fuls of water ; let it remain three or four days in the sun, or at the fire, and it 
will dissolve and turn black. The preparatory liquid is one ounce of pearlash,. 
to be put into a bottle with one and a half ounces of water, and a piece of gum 
arabic the size of a nutmeg. 

Another Formula. — This ink is made of two parts of powdered acetate 
of copper, four parts of sal-ammonia, one part of lampblack, and twenty parts 
of water, well mixed together. They make a good indelible ink, which, how- 
ever, must always be well shaken before using. 

Purple Italian Indelible Ink. — The Italian ink of the trade is a 
chloride of gold. The material to be marked is first moistend with a solution 
of chloride of tin, and dried. Then, upon writing with the gold chloride, a 
precipitate of gold purple, the beautiful purple of Cassius, is the result, which 
penetrates the fibers very minutely. 

Purple-red Indelible Ink. — The place where the linen is to be 
marked is first wet with a solution consisting of three drs. of carbonate of 
soda, and three drs. of gum arabic, dissolved in one and one-half oz. of water,, 
then dried and smoothed. The place is now to be written on with a solution 
composed of one dr. of chloride of platina dissolved in two oz. of distilled water, 
then allowed to dry. When quite dry, the writing is to be painted over with a 
goose's feather, moistened with a liquid consisting of one dr. of protochloride of 
tin dissolved in two oz. of distilled water. 

Blue Indelible Ink. — Take five parts of oxide of molybdenum, dis- 
solved in the requisite quantity of hydrochloric acid ; two parts of the extract 
licorice, and six of gum arabic dissolved in two hundred parts of water. 
These two solutions are mixed, and after writing with them on the objects, the 
spot written upon is moistened with a solution of chloride of tin in water. This 
indelible ink not only withstands washing, but also all kinds of acids and alka- 
lies, except those which also destroy the linen. 

Anotlier Formula. — Take of iodide of potassium, one oz. ; iodine, six 
drs. ; water, four oz. ; dissolve. Make a solution of two oz. of ferrocyanide of 
potassium in water. Add the iodine solution to the second. A blue precipitate 
will fall, which, after filtering, may be dissolved in water, forming a blue ink. 

This blue, added to common ink, renders it indelible. 

To Take Ink from Pre§s Rollers. — Use benzine and a soft 
sponge. Follow with a clean sponge and water. Strong alkaline washes 
injure the face of a roller. 

To Remove Printers' Ink from the Hands. — First rub the 
hands with some kind of grease or animal oil, then use soap and warm, soft 
water. If the ink is well ground into the pores, a little diluted lye and fine sand 
may be used. 



HOW TO MAKE PASTES. 219 

To Remove Printers' Ink from Wood. — Sometimes it is neces- 
sary to remove printers' ink from wood where lye or other fluids cannot be 
used, and in such cases the ink may be completely removed by use of the eras- 
ing rubber, even if the surface is uneven, as in case of a piece of engraved 
wood. 

To Remove Ink from Type. — Strong lye from wood ashes applied 
with a brush is good. If concentrated lye is used, make the solution by put- 
ting one pound of the lye into five gallons of water. 



HOW TO MAKE PASTES. 



A Perpetual Paste. — Is a paste thc^c may be made by dissolving an 
ounce of alum in a quart of warm water. When cold, add as much flour as 
will make it the consistency of cream ; then stir into it half a teaspoonful of 
powdered resin, and two or three cloves. Boil it to a consistency of mush, stir- 
ring all the time. It will keep for twelve months, and when dry may be soft- 
ened with warm water. 

Paste for Scrap Books. — Take half a teaspoonful of starch, same of 
flour, pour on a little boiling water, let it stand a minute, add more water,, 
stir and cook it until it is thick enough to starch a shirt bosom. It spreads 
smooth, sticks well and will not mold or discolor paper. Starch alone will 
make a very good paste. 

A Strong" Paste. — A paste that will neither decay nor become moldy ; 
mix good clean flour with cold water into a thick paste well blended together, 
then add boiling water, stirring well up until it is of a consistency that can be 
easily and smoothly spread with a brush ; add to this a spoonful or two of 
brown sugar, a little corrosive sublimate and about half a dozen drops of oil of 
lavender, and you will have a paste that will hold with wonderful tenacity. 

A Brilliant Paste. — A brilliant and adhesive paste, adapted to fancy 
articles, may be made by dissolving caseine precipitated from milk by acetic 
acid and washed with pure water in a saturated solution of borax. 

A Sug'ar Paste. — In order to prevent the gum from cracking, to ten parts 
by weight of gum arable add three parts of sugar, add water until the desired 
consistency is obtained. If a very strong paste is required, add a quantity of 
flour equal in weight to the gum, without boiling the mixture. The paste im- 
proves in strength when it begins to ferment. 

Acid-Proof Paste. — A paste formed by mixing powdered glass with a 
concentrated solution of silicate of soda makes an excellent acid-proof cement. 

Paper and L<eatlier Paste. — Cover four parts, by weight, of glue, 
with fifteen parts of cold water, and allow it to soak for several hours, then 



t220 HOW TO MAKE MUCILAGE. 

Avarm moderately till the solution is perfectly clear, and dilute with sixty parts 
of boiling water, intimately stirred in. Next prepare a solution of thirty parts 
of starch in two hundred parts of cold water, so as to form a thin homogeneous 
liquid, free ^rom lumps, and pour the boiling glue solution into it with thorough 
stirring, and at the same time keep the mass boiling. 

Paste for Papering Boxes. — Boil water and stir in batter of wheat or 
rye flour. Let it boil one minute ; take off and strain through a colander. Add, 
while boiling, a little glue or powdered alum. Do plenty of stirring while the 
paste is cooking, and make of consistency that will spread nicely. 

Paste to Fasten Clolli to Wood. — Take a plump pound of wheat 
flour, one tablespoonful of powdered resin, one tablespoonful of finely powdered 
alum and rub the mixture in a suitable vessel, with water, to a uniform, smooth 
paste ; transfer this to a small kettle over a fire, and stir until the paste is per- 
fectly homogeneous without lumps. As soon as the mass has become so stiff 
that the stirrer remains upright in it, transfer it to another vessel and cover it 
up so that no skin may form on its surface. 

This paste is applied in a very thin layer to the surface of the table ; the 
cloth, or leather, is then laid and pressed upon it, and smoothed with a roller. 
The ends are cut off after drying. If leather is to be fastened on, this must 
iirst be moistened with water. The paste is then applied, and the leather rub- 
bed smooth with a cloth. 

Paste for Tin. — For fastening labels to tin, it is said that the addition of 
a Httle honey to common flour paste will make a most excellent adhesive 
substance. 

Paste for Printing: Office. — Take two gallons of cold water and one 
quart wheat flour ; rub out all the lumps, then add one-fourth pound of finely 
pulverized alum and boil tlie mixture for ten minutes, or until a thick consis- 
tency is reached. Now add one quart of hot water and boil again, until the 
paste becomes a pale brown color, and thick. The paste should be well stirred 
during both processes of cooking. Paste thus made will keep sweet for two 
weeks and prove very adhesive. 



HOW TO MAKE MUCILAGE. 



Commercial lHueilag^e. — The best quality of mucilage in the market is 
made by dissolving clear glue in equal volumes of water and strong vinegar, 
and adding one-fourth of an equal volume of alcohol, and a small quantity of a 
solution of alum in water. Some of the cheaper preparations offered for sale 
are merely boiled starch or flour, mixed with nitric acid to prevent their gelatin- 
izing. 



TANNING AND CARE OF LEATHER. 221 

Oum Arabic Hucilag^e. — Put half a pound of gum arable in a quart 
bottle ; then pour in water till the bottle is nearly full, and put in a wine glass 
of wine, vinegar, brandy, whisky or alcohol, which will prevent putrid fermen- 
tation ; shake your bottle occasionally for two or three days ; you will then have 
a bottle of gum mucilage that will never spoil. 

Another Formula. — Take gum arable an ounce and a half, water three 
ounces, making a thick, strong mucilage (the thickness saves a great deal of 
time in its use), and then add fifteen drops of saturated solution of carboline in 
water. Weather never affects it, it does not sour. „ 

Oum Tragacantli Mucilage. — A good mucilage can be made by mix- ' 
ing gum tragacanth with water in a vial, and set in a warm place twelve or 
fourteen hours. Its appearance will be like starch, and it can be made thick or 
thin to suit, by the quantity of water used. 

Another Formula. — Two parts of gum tragacanth and one part of pow- 
dered gum arable ; cover with cold water till dissolved, then reduce to desired 
consistency with same. A few drops of carbolic acid will prevent souring. 

mucilage for Metals. — Glue, water and three per cent, of nitric acid- 
adheres well to metallic surfaces. 

Pocket Mucilage. — Boil one pound of the best white glue, and strain 
very clear ; boil, also, four ounces of isinglass, and mix the two together ; place 
them on a water bath, with half a pound of white sugar, and let them evaporate 
till the liquid is thick, when it is to be poured into molds, cut, and dried. The 
mucilage, which may be carried in the pocket, immediately dissolves in water, 
and fastens paper very firmly. 

To Keep Mucilage from Molding. — Solutions of gum arable soon 
mold and sour, and finally lose their adhesive property. It is said that a little 
sulphate of quinine will prevent this, while it imparts no bad odor of its own. 
A few drops of carbolic acid to a bottle of mucilage will preserve it, also a little 
vinegar, as it contains acetic acid. Alcohol and alum a-re both good. 



TANNING AND CARE OF LEATHER. 



Tanning Small Hides. — Bark tanning is a process that belongs to the 
professional tanner. I shall only give simple methods for home use. Soak the 
skin in water well impregnated with lime for a week or two, or until the hair 
can be removed ; then soak and wash until all the lime is taken out. Now 
make a solution of two parts salt to one of alum, and soak for a few days in 
this liquid ; then hang up where it will drain and dry. When half dried, begin 
work upon it, and continue whipping and rubbing until it is entirely cured. 
Leather prepared in this way is very tough and flexible, but it will not answer 
for footwear, or any place where it is liable to become soaked with water. 



222 TANNING AND CARE OF LEATHER. 

Tannings with Olycerine. — Glycerine, it is claimed, will preserve and 
increase the elasticity and resistance of leather. This system of tanning is par- 
ticularly adapted to straps and belts of machinery, as it keeps them from drying 
and cracking. It is only necessary to immerse the leather, tanned in the usual 
manner, in a bath of glycerine, and to leave it for several weeks, when the pores 
will be impregnated with the greasy substance, and the leather will be found to 
be much more elastic and tenacious. 

Uses of Ra\^hlde. — Considerable use is now made of the hides of ani- 
mals untanned. Rawhide is used for hoisting purposes in warehouses, mines, 
etc., as also on shipboard for tiller and other ropes, and there are many other 
uses to which it may be put. The skin should be cut into strips, and the hair 
shaved close with a sharp knife. It may be made soft by rubbing on the edge 
of a board. 

A rawhide halter strap, an inch wide, it is claimed, is stronger and will last 
longer than an inch rope. It is stronger than hoop iron, and more durable, and 
may be used to hoop dry casks and boxes. It is as good as wire upon a broken 
thill, or any woodwork that is splintered. Put it on wet and nail fast. It 
shrinks down in drying. 

To Make I^eatlier Water-proof. — Leather can be made water-proof 
by coating it, until it will absorb no more, with linseed oil and Venice turpen- 
tine ; boil half a pound of the latter in one quart of the oil, and apply while 
warm. I very much doubt this mixture adding to durability of leather. 

Another Method. — Dissolve three quarters of an ounce of paraffine in a 
pint of lard oil. The best quality of oil should be used. It will be necessary 
to heat the oil slightly in order to dissolve the paraffine. This preparation will 
harden leather somewhat, but it is valuable where boots or other leather articles 
are to be for some time in water. The hardness may be lessened by reducing 
the amount of parafifine, but it is less impervious to water. 

Third Method. — Melt together beef tallow four ounces, resin one ounce, 
and beeswax one ounce, and when nearly cooled solid, add as much neat's-foot 
oil as the above mixture measures. It is to be applied with a soft rag. The 
leather should be warmed before a fire and the application well rubbed in. It 
requires two applications to make the leather thoroughly water-proof. 

To Clean Breather. — Castile soap in warm water, or a little sal soda in 
water, will remove grease. For carriage leather, milk and water is good. To 
remove ink stains from leather, use oxalic acid diluted. This acid is poison 
and should be used with care. In dilution, it may be used one ounce of crystals 
to a pint of water. 

To Harden Leather. — Leather may be stiffened by extracting the oily 
matters with bisulphide of carbon, and afterward immersing it for a short time 
in a hot concentrated solution of zinc chloride, pressing and drying at about 
220° Fahr. 



TANNING AND CARE OF LEATHER. 223 

To Restore Patent L«eather. — Take one pint of raw linseed oil, four 
ounces of cider vinegar, two ounces of spirits of wine, one ounce of butter of 
antimony, half an ounce of spirits of hartshorn, half an ounce of camphor, and 
half an ounce of lavender. Shake them well together, and they are ready for 
use. Apply this with a soft brush, and rub it with cotton batting until it is 
-dry. 

To Fasten I^eatlier to Metal. — It is said that leather may be affixed 
to metal so that it will split before it can be torn off, by means of the following 
composition : A quantity of nut galls reduced to powder is dissolved in eight 
parts of distilled water, and, after remaining for six hours, is filtered through a 
cloth. At the same time take a small quantity of water and add it to one part 
(by weight) of glue, which is to be held in solution for twenty-four hours. The 
first is to be applied to the leather, the latter to the metal, which should first be 
roughened and heated. The leather is then laid upon the metal and dried 
under pressure. 

Leather Pump Paeking". — Leather pump packing requiring to be very 
tight, for small work, should not be more than one-thirty-second inch thick, and 
not to be bent up round the bore or sides of the barrel more than one-sixteenth 
inch. 

To Blaeken Leather. — Take two pounds of bark of elder, and the 
same quantity of the filings of rusty iron ; steep them in two gallons of river 
water, and put them in a cask or vessel closely stopped. After it has thus 
stood two months, add to the liquid, when well pressed out, one pound of 
powdered nut-galls, and a quarter of a pound of copperas ; p.nd then, after 
stirring it over a good fire, press out the liquid, with which the leather is to be 
three or four times brushed over, when it becomes of an excellent and durable 
black. 

\l^ater-proof Leather Blacking. — Take a quarter pound of tallow, 
one quarter pound of beeswax, one quarter pound of resin, one pint of tanner's 
oil, and lampblack to color. 

Bright Leather Blacking. — Take four ounces of ivory-black, three 
ounces of the coarsest sugar, a tablespoonful of sweet oil, and a pint of small 
beer ; mix them gradually, cold. 

To Polish Lnameled Leather. — Two pints of the best cream, one 
pint of linseed oil ; make them each lukewarm, and then mix them well together. 
Having previously cleaned the leather from dirt, rub it over with a sponge dip- 
ped in the mixture ; then rub it with a soft dry cloth until a brilliant polish is 
produced. 

Oerniaii Liquid Leather Polish. — Dissolve three and one-half 
ounces of shellac in half a pint of alcohol. Rub smooth twenty-five grains of 
lampblack with six drams of cod liver oil, and mix. A few drops are to be 
applied to the leather with a sponge. 



224 CARE OF BOOTS AND SHOES. 

To Restore Morocco Leatlier. — The luster of morocco leather is 
restored by varnishing with white of egg. 

Patent Leather Polish. — A polish for patent leather, which the Chem- 
ist and Druggist pronounces to be a good thing, is made by the mixing of the 
whites of two eggs, one tablespoonful of alcohol, two large lumps of sugar, as 
much finely powdered ivory black as may be required to make it black enough 
and of the right consistency. Lay it on lightly with a soft sponge, and rub 
gently with a soft cloth. 

Vienna L<eather Polish. — A fine polish is composed of purified lamp- 
black and turpentine, in which a small quantity of asphaltum has been dissolved. 
These articles must be well mixed, and then added to thin shellac varnish, the 
whole being thoroughly stirred ; care must be taken not to use too much tur- 
pentine, as it will injure the luster of the polish. 

Ivory Black L<eather Polish. — Mix ivory black with copal varnish. 
The best method of mixing is to rub the black with a small quantity of the var- 
nish until it is all moistened, and then add sufficient quantity of the varnish to 
reduce it to the proper degree of consistency. This black, being elastic, can be 
used upon collars as well as other parts of the harness, and as a renovator for 
carriage tops, etc. 

Oloss for LiCather.- Professor Bottger states that a fine golden gloss 
may be imparted to leather by brushing it over with a broad soft brush dipped 
in a concentrated solution of resin in an alcoholic solution of shellac. 

Polish for Old Leather. — Take two parts of good glue and soak in 
tepid water until it is thoroughly softened, then add three parts of castile soap 
dissolved in warm water, then add five gills of water and two gills of brandy or 
common spirits, rubbing it until it becomes smooth ; stir this into the mass, and 
afterward stir in two parts of wheat flour mixed smooth in cold water. The 
mixture is then put over a moderate fire and allowed to steam off a little, but 
not to boil, stirring it well while over the fire. 

It can be used immediately, or made up into small cakes which can be dis- 
solved at any time in a little water or beer. It can be put on with a brush, a 
thin coat only being required, and afterward rubbing it with a linen or silk 
cloth. It will restore old dash boards of leatner, or leather tops, where the 
enamel is not off. 



CARE OF BOOTS AND SHOES. 



Hardening^ Shoe Leather. — One of the most important things to be 
observed in the management of boots and shoes is to keep the leather soft and 
pliable. Leather that has become hard and stiff is liable to crack and chafe,, 
and soon become worthless. 



CARE OF BOOTS AND SHOES. 22$ 

Ca§tor Oil for Leather. — I have found nothing so good for shoe leather 
as castor oil. It softens, renders the substance impervious to water, and does 
not interfere with putting on a poHsh with comrhon blacking afterward, The 
boot or shoe should be thoroughly cleaned with a knife and wet cloth, but not 
soaked in water, and then the oil applied before the leather is quite dry. Spread 
three coats of oil over the surface, one after the other, as fast as they penetrate. 
Leather will never get hard if always oiled when damp. 

■Water-proof Soles. — A correspondent writing upon this subject, says 
that for farmers' boots when exposed to snow and slush, hot tar, if applied to 
the soles, will make them water-proof. Let it be as hot as the leather will bear 
without injury, applied with a swab, and dry by the fire. The operation 
may be repeated two or three times during the winter, if necessary. It makes 
the surface of the leather quite hard, so that it wears longer, as well as keeps 
the water out. One should make the test on a pair of boots not very valuable, 
first. 

To Soften Kid Boots. — Melt a quarter of a pound of fallow and add 
to it the same weight of olive oil, stir, and let it stand still ; apply a small 
quantity occasionally with a piece of flannel. Should the boots be very dirty, 
cleanse with warm water. 

Squeaking Boots. — The squeaking of boots and shoes sometimes be- 
comes very annoying, and especially when about the sick roorn or walking 
down a church aisle. To prevent this, drive a row of pegs through the center 
of the sole from the toe toward the heel. The noise is caused by the friction of 
the layer in the center. This method stiffens the sole somewhat, but is prefer- 
able to the annoyance. Saturating the sole with kerosene oil is said to be 
effectual also. 

Treacling Shoes to One Side. — The habit of running down the heels 
of boots and shoes is the result of allowing infants to stand upon their feet or 
to w-alk while too young and tender. One remedy is the practice of turning the 
foot in an opposite direction from which is the tendency. 

As an aid to this, the heel may be built a little higher on one side than the 
other, and a stiff counter used. Nails driven into the heel of the shoe on the 
side which is worn over will be of advantage also ; or better than this, a rim of 
steel passing around the bottom of the heel and kept in place by nails or a few 
short screws. 

To Mend Rubber Shoes. — Get a piece of pure rubber — an old 
shoe — vulcanized will not do ; cut it into small bits ; put it into a bottle and 
cover to twice its depth with spirits of turpentine or refined coal tar naphtha — 
not petroleum naphtha. Stop the bottle and set to one side, shaking it fre- 
quently. The rubber will soon dissolve. Then take the shoe and press the 
rip or cut close together and put on the solution with a camel's hair brush. 
Continue to apply as fast as it dries until a thorough coating is formed. 



226 CARE OF BOOTS AND SHOES. 

Another "Way. — Procure a small tin box of prepared rubber in a semi- 
liquid condition, which can be purchased for a few cents at almost any store 
where India rubber goods are kept for sale. The boot must be washed clean 
and dried. Then the surface around the rent is to be roughened a little with 
the point of a knife, after which the semi-liquid rubber is spread on with a 
spoon as thickly as it can be without flowing away. Then a neat patch is 
prepared and covered with one or two coats of the rubber. When the prepared 
rubber is almost dry, the patch is applied and held on firmly for a few minutes. 

Heating Slioe§. — The extreme heat in which most men and women ex- 
pose boots and shoes during winter deprives leather of its vitality, rendering it 
liable to break and crack. When leather becomes so warm as to give off the 
smell of leather, it is singed. Close rubber shoes also destroy the life of 
leather. All varnishes and all blacking containing the properties of common 
varnish should be avoided. 

Varnisli for Ladies' Slioes. — Place three pounds of rain water in a 
pot over the fire, and, when boiling, add four ounces of white pulverized 
wax, one ounce of clear, transparent glue in small pieces, two ounces 
of pulverized gum Senegal, two ounces of white soap scraped fine, two ounces 
of brown pulverized sugar. The ingredients are placed in one by one, and 
every time stirred up ; it is well to take the pot from the fire every time a sub- 
stance is added, to prevent boiling over. 

When all is added, the pot is removed from the fire, and when sufficiently 
cooled, three ounces of alcohol are added, and finally three ounces of fine 
Frankfort black, well incorporated by continued stirring. This varnish is put 
on the leather with a brush, and is very valuable for boots and shoes, as it can 
be afterward polished with a large brush like ordinary blacking, shows a high 
polish, and does not soil the clothing. 

Slioe Slael^ing^ without Acid. — This recipe is said to produce a 
superior article of shoe blacking. From three to four pounds of lampblack and 
one half pound of bone black are well mixed with five pounds of glycerine and 
treacle. Meanwhile two and one half ounces of gutta percha are cautiously 
fused in a copper or iron saucepan, and ten ounces of olive oil added, with con- 
tinual stirring, and afterward one ounce of stearine. 

The warm mass is added to the former mixture, and then a solution of five 
ounces of gum Senegal in one and one half pounds of water and one dram 
each of the oil of rosemary and lavender may be added. For use, the blacking 
is diluted with three to four parts of water. This blacking keeps the leather 
soft, and renders it more durable. 

Blacking' Ball for ^hoes. — Take mutton suet four ounces, beeswax 
one ounce, sweet oil one ounce, sugar candy and gum arable one dram each, 
in fine powder ; melt these well together over a gentle fire, and add thereto 
about a spoonful of turpentine, and lampblack sufficient to give it a good black 



HINTS ABOUT CORKS. 227 

color. While hot enough to run, make it into a ball by pouring the Hquor into 
a tin mold, or let it stand till almost cold ; or it may be molded by the hand 
into any desired shape. 

Liquid Shoe Blacking-. — As a general rule, blacking that contains acid 
should not be used upon leather, but the following is claimed to be an ex- 
ception on account of its use in connection with sugar and oil. Take three 
ounces of ivory-black, two ounces of coarse sugar, one ounce of sulphuric acid, 
one ounce of muriatic acid, one tablespoonful of sweet oil and lemon acid, and 
one pint of vinegar. First mix the ivory-black and sweet oil together, then the 
lemon and sugar, with a little vinegar to qualify the blacking ; then add the 
sulphuric and muriatic acids, and mix them all well together. 

Cheap Ivory-Blaek for Shoes. — Ivory-black, two ounces, brown sugar, 
one and one-half ounces, and sweet oil, one-half tablespoonful. Mix them well, 
and then gradually add one-half pint of small beer. 

Another Formula. — A quarter pound of ivory-black, a quarter pound of 
moist sugar, a tablespoonful of flour, a piece of tallow about the size of a 
walnut, and a small piece of gum arable. Make a paste of the flour, and while 
hot put in the tallow, then the sugar, and afterward mix the whole well 
together in a quart of water. 



HINTS ABOUT CORKS. 



To Soften Cork. — To soften sheet cork so as to make it pliable and 
easily shaped, steam it thoroughly, or boil it in water for an hour or so. 

To Make Cork Air Tight. — Cover with a cement made of finely pow- 
dered litharge, mixed with undiluted glycerine. 

To Make Prepared Corks. — If immersed in melted paraffine, porous 
corks will become both gas and water-tight. Allow the corks to remain for 
about five minutes beneath the surface of melted paraffine in a suitable vessel, 
the corks being held down either by a perforated lid, wire screen or similar de- 
vice. Corks thus prepared can be easily cut and bored, have a perfectly smooth 
exterior, may be introduced and removed from the neck of a flask with ease, 
and make a perfect seal. The method has long been in use in English labora- 
tories, 

HoAV to Bore a Cork. — When it is desired to make a smooth hole 
through a cork, first cut with a penknife as near round as possible, and then rub 
through a rat-tail file. 

An Improvised Corkscrew. — Insert from opposite directions the 
]-)rongs of a couple of two-tined table forks, then slip a knife blade between the 
tines and turn the cork, and lift it out. 



228 CARE OF MARBLE. 

T© Get a Cork From Inside a Bottle. — Where a cork has by 
accident or through necessity, been forced down into a bottle, it may be re- 
moved by doubling a string and dropping the bow end into the bottle, and 
turning the same bottom side up. When the cork gets into the loop it may be 
drawn out easily. 



CARE OF MARBLE. 



To Clean Marble. — Fine pumice stone, newly slaked lime and verdigris 
mixed thick with soft soap, make a very strong preparation for cleaning marble. 
It should be put in a woolen rag, and rub the stains well one way. Wash off 
with soap and water. Repeat, if not removed. Or, cover the stains with ful- 
ler's earth or plaster of Paris, and when dry brush it off. 

Another liVay. — Put two ounces of carbonate of soda into one quart of 
cold water. Brush the marble with a clean paint brush dipped in this solution, 
rinsing constantly with clean water. Benzine and common clay will also clean 
marble very well. 

Still another and very good preparation is made of two parts of common soda, 
one part of pumice stone and one part of finely powdered chalk ; sift it through 
a fine sieve and mix it with water ; then rub it well all over the marble, and the 
stains will be removed ; then wash the marble over with soap and water, and 
it will be as clean as it was at first. 

To Polish Marhle. — Rub thoroughly with a linen cloth wrapped around 
a block that has been wet with oxide of zinc, sometimes called " putty powder." 
This will also polish alabaster or common stone, providing the latter is hard 
enough to take a polish. 

To I>res§ Over a Marble Mantel. — It should first be thoroughly 
cleaned by coating with lime and soda mixed into a paste with water. Keep 
this application wet for twenty-four hours, then rub off with cloths and 
apply the oxide of zinc paste ; but keep it constantly wet. The preparation 
answers a very good purpose for removing scratches in show cases, or plate 
glass, wherever brought into contact with hard substances. 

Iron Rust on Marble. — This can usually be removed by rubbing with 
lemon juice. Almost all other stains may be taken off by mixing one grain of 
finely powdered chalk, one of pumice stone, and two ounces of common soda. 
Sift these together through a fine sieve, and mix with water. 

When thoroughly mixed, rub this mixture over the stains faithfully, and they 
will disappear. Wash the marble after this with soap and water, dry and polish 
with a chamois skin, and the marble will look like new. 

To Take Stains from Marble. — A small quantity of diluted vitriol 



THE MANAGEMENT OF PAPER. 229 

will take stains out of marble. Wet the spots with the acid, and in a few 
minutes rub briskly with a soft linen cloth till they disappear. 

Artificial Marble. — It is said that a nice quality of artificial marble may 
be made by mixing plaster of Paris in a solution of alum ; bake in an oven, and 
grind to a powder ; it may then be mixed with water and formed into any shape. 
It will bear a high polish. 

Cement Fillings for Marble. — Take of beeswax, two pounds, and of 
resin, one pound ; melt them and add one and one-half pound of the same 
kind of matter, powdered, as the body to be cemented is composed of, strewing 
it into the melted mixture and stirring them well together, and afterwards 
kneading the mass in water, that the powder may be thoroughly incorporated 
with the wax and resin. 

The proportion of the powdered matter may be varied where required, in 
order to bring the cement nearer the color of the body on which it is to be 
employed. This cement must be heated when applied, as also the parts of the 
subject to be cemented together, and care must be taken, likewise, that they 
may be thoroughly dry. 

Where large cracks are to be filled before the cement is hardened, rub into 
the seam dust of the same material, so as to have a uniform surface. This 
may be used upon alabaster and different kinds .of stone. See " Cements." 



THE MANAGEMENT OF PAPER. 



To Make Paper Water-proof. — To make water-proof packing paper, 
dissolve one and four-fifths pounds of white soap in one quart of water. In 
another one quart of water dissolve one and four-fifths ounces (Troy), of gum 
arable and five and a half ounces of glue. Mix the two solutions, warm them, 
and soak the paper in the Hquid, and pass it between rollers, or simply hang it 
up to dry. 

Another Method. — To make common paper watei -proof, prepare a solu- 
tion of caoutchouc — India rubber in caoutchine, a volatile, oily liquid made from 
caoutchouc, sold by druggists — plunge into it once or twice unsized paper, and 
dry it by a gentle heat. It may then be used as a writing paper, and will resist 
all humidity, and small vessels made of it will even contain water. 

To Water-proof Pasteboard. — The water-proofing of pasteboard may 
be effected with a mixture of four parts of slaked lime with three parts of skim- 
med milk and a little alum. As soon as mixed, the pasteboard is brushed over 
with two successive coatings of the preparation, and thus becomes impervious 
to water. 

Water and Fire-proof Paper, — Dissolve eight ounces of alum and 



230 THE MANAGEMENT OF PAPER. 

three and three-quarter ounces of white soap in four pints of water ; in another 
vessel dissolve two ounces of gum arabic and four ounces of glue in four pints 
of water. Mix the two solutions and make the mixture hot. Immerse the pa- 
per in the mixture, and then hang it up to dry or pass it between cylinders. 

The alum, soap, glue, and gum form a sort of artificial covering which pro- 
tects the surface of the paper from the action of water, and to a certain extent 
from fire. This paper will be very useful for packages which may be exposed 
to the inclemency of the weather. 

To Make Paper Acid-proof. — Preparation for coating paper to make 
it resist the action of acids, alkalies, and water : Dissolve caoutchouc — solu- 
tion of India rubber — cut into small shreds in a mixture of bisulphide of carbon 
with six per cent, of absolute alcohol. The solution may be diluted as desired 
with the mixed solvents. 

To Make Parclimeiit Paper. — Paper can be readily converted into 
vegetable parchment by immersing it for a few minutes in a mixture of two 
volumes of sulphuric acid and one of water. The acid should be washed off 
the paper by immersing and slightly agitating it in a large quantity of cold 
water. The last trace of acid may be removed by finally immersing the paper 
in water to which a small quantity of ammonia has been added. 

To prevent contraction or wrinkling, the paper should be stretched on a 
frame while yet wet. Paper so prepared is transparent, and can be used for 
tracing paper ; and may also be employed as a very good substitute for sheep- 
skin parchment. 

To Renovate Old Manuscripts. — Wash the manuscript in a solution 
of ferro-cyanide of potassium in clean water. 

How to Select Wall Paper. — If the room is small, a light colored 
paper with fine figure is best ; if large, a larger figure may be used, but in either 
case reject all dull, heavy colors, and do not select high colored or gay designed, 
but a neat, modest figure. If the house is of old style, low between joints, 
paper with stripes running up and down should by all means be used ; it will 
give the room an appearance of being large and higher walled than it really is. 

Paper for Polisliing-. — After a stove has been blackened, it can be kept 
looking very well for a long time by rubbing with paper every morning. Rub- 
bing with paper is a much nicer way of keeping a tea kettle, coffee pot and tea 
pot bright and clean, than the old way of washing them in suds. Rubbing with 
paper is also the best way of polishing knives and tinware, after scouring. This 
saves wetting the knife handles. 

If a little flour be held on the paper in rubbing tinware and spoons, they shine 
like new silver. For polishing mirrors, windows, lamp chimneys, etc., paper is 
better than dry cloth. 

Black Paper for Drawing^ Patterns. — Mix some smooth lamp- 
black and sweet oil ; with a bit of flannel cover a sheet or two of large writing 



THE MANAGEMENT OF PAPER. 2^1 

paper with this mixture ; then daub the paper dry with a bit of fine linen, and 
keep it for using in the following manner : 

Put the black side on another sheet of paper, and fasten the corners together 
with a small pin. Lay on the back of the black paper the pattern to be drawn, 
and go over it with the point of a steel pencil ; the black paper will then leave 
the impression of the pattern on the under sheet, on which you must now draw 
with ink. 

If you draw patterns on cloth, or muslin, do it with a pen dipped in a bit of 
stone blue, a bit of sugar, and a little water. 

To Preserve Drawings on Paper. — A simple device for the pres- 
ervation of cards, drawings or photographs from injury by being handled or 
coming in contact with moisture, consists of a preparation of gutta-percha in 
solution. The liquid is thrown, in a very fine spray, over the article by an 
atomizer. 

When the liquid has in part evaporated, which it soon does, it leaves the ob- 
ject coated over with a thin, translucent film, impervious to water. The gutta- 
percha should be dissolved in chloroform or ether. The process of dissolving 
the gum is in itself purifying. 

A drawing or photograph protected by this film can be washed with safety. 
The preparation softens at a temperature of 1 50° Fahr. ; but to this only a rare 
accident would subject it. 

How to File Papers. — To those who have no better method I would 
recommend getting two pieces of card-board a trifle larger than the journal to 
be bound ; then take a strip of canvas or thin leather as long as the cover sides, 
and three or more inches wide, and glue this on to the edges of the card-board 
so that the latter may spread apart sufficiently to admit twenty-six numbers of 
a weekly, or twelve of a monthly. Now about three inches from the ends of 
the cover, and one-fourth of an inch from the edge next the back, punch holes 
large enough to admit a small cord, and the binder is ready for the file. 

Punch holes m the papers as fast as received to correspond with those in the 
cover, and with a lady's shoe string fasten in each succeeding number, by tying 
the strings over the back wi;h a bow knot. 

A file of this kind will stand hard usage for years, and keep the papers 
in nice order. It is very simple, inexpensive, and may be made quite orna- 
mental, by covering the card-board on the outside with handsome paper and 
the inside with white. Black, red or blue leather makes a pretty back. 

To Take Orease out of Paper. — Warm gradually the parts con- 
taining the grease, and extract as much as possible of it by applying blotting- 
paper. Apply to the warm paper with a soft, clean brush, some clear essential 
oil of turpentine that has been boiled, and then complete the operation by rub- 
bing over a little alcohol. 

To Take Grease from Parchment. — To remove grease spots from 



232 DRAWING AND MOUNTING MAPS. 

parchment, cover with hot pipe-clay and place under pressure for a few- 
hours. 

To Take Creases out of Paper. — If it is desired to remove a crease 
from an engraving which has been folded, slightly moisten the back of it. over 
which place a cloth and apply a hot iron. Similar wrinkles and creases may be 
taken out of a volume of papers that would otherwise be too imperfect for 
binding. Carefully sprinkle the pages at regular intervals (an ordinary wisp 
broom is good for the purpose), and then place them in a press or under some 
heavy weight ; when dry they will be found smooth. 

To Fix Pencil Marks on Paper. — To fix pencil marks so they will 
not rub out, take well skimmed milk and dilute with an equal bulk of water. 
Wash the pencil marks (whether writing or drawing) with this liquid, using a 
soft flat camel hair brush, and avoiding all rubbing. Place upon a flat board 
to dry. 

Temporary Tracing Paper. — Sometimes it is convenient to have 
tracing paper only temporarily transparent, and to obtain this it is only neces- 
sary to wet the sheet in benzine. After a time the benzine will evaporate and 
the original condition of the paper will be restored to it. In this way a design 
can be transferred to any part of a sheet of paper without the necessity of em- 
ploying regular tracing paper for the purpose. If the drawing is not completed, 
the requisite portion of the paper must again be damped with the benzine. 

Paper for Fruit Jars. — Preserves and pickles keep much better if 
brown paper instead of cloth is tied over the jar ; canned fruit is not so apt to 
mold if a piece of writing paper cut to fit the can is laid directly on the fruit. 
Paper is much better to put under a carpet than straw. It is warmer, thinner, 
and makes less noise when one walks over it. 

Paper for Beds. — Two thicknesses of paper placed between other cov- 
erings on a bed are as warm as a quilt. 

Paper for Chairs. — If it is necessary to step upon a chair, always lay a 
paper on it, and thus save the paint or wood work from damage. 



DRAWING AND MOUNTING MAPS. 



Material for Map Making.— A correspondent of the Sunday School 
Times tells how a cheap map may be made by any one having a knack for 
drawing, even in the rudest way, for use in schools. 

Procure a common paper window shade having one side plain white or some 
very light color. If one shade is not wide enough, paste two together. In this 
way you can have your map of any size you want under seven feet square. 
Now procure from any Bible atlas, or elsewhere, a small map of the country 



DRAWING AND MOUNTING MAPS. 233 

you want to exhibit, no matter how small the map may be. Provide yourself 
with a. pair of compasses (or dividers), an iron square, a lead pencil and a 
straight-edge, half a dozen different colored crayons and you are ready for 
work. 

How to ©raw the Map. — Tack your paper shade to a smooth wall 
(white side out, of course). With your straight-edge, square and pencil, draw 
the outer lines of your enlarged map in the same proportions that the small map 
has. With your compasses space off the small map both ways in spaces of 
about one inch, forming squares. Space off the large map with the same 
number of squares as are contained in the small one, and you have the founda- 
tion for your new map. 

We will suppose you want a map of Paul's travels. Notice in the small map 
the square which the northeastern point of the Mediterranean Sea is in ; begin 
at the same point in the corresponding square of the large map, and trace with 
pencil the outline of that sea. It is not essential that all the minute irregulari- 
ties of the coast (especially around the yEgean Sea) be strictly followed. 

Next draw the outhnes of the Black Sea, beginning at a given point in one of 
the squares of the large map corresponding with the same square in the small 
map. Then locate the islands of Cyprus, Crete, Sicily, etc., being all the time 
guided by the corresponding squares in the two maps. Run the lines dividing 
the countries. Locate and name the places mentioned in the lessons — no others 
are needed. 

Now with a dark crayon follow the pencil lines and trace the sea coasts. 
With a dark blue crayon trace a line just inside of the dark line. Take a light 
tlue crayon about an inch long, and with the side of it make a wide line inside 
the dark blue. Then with the ball of the finger rub over these lines, and they 
will blend together, forming a beautiful border for the sea coasts. 

Having gone thus far you will have learned enough to finish your map to suit 
your own taste. For lettering, use a camel's hair pencil and writing ink. Tack 
or paste a strip of wood to the top and bottom of your paper shade, and your 
map is ready to hang up in the school room. 

How to Iflouiit a Map. — Cut the backing muslin, which should not be 
too heavy, a size larger than the drawing or map, wet it with fresh water, 
stretch it out well, tacking the edges lightly round the board or floor, so as to 
keep it flat as possible ; then, while it is damp, go over it evenly with the paste, 
dabbing it and rubbing it in well with the brush, but at the same time not too 
thickly. Next damp the chart thoroughly with a sponge on the back ; when it 
looks dull, roll it up on a clean map handle or round ruler, press the outer edge 
firmly down on one end of the pasted muslin, unroll the remainder evenly along 
the muslin, smoothing it down as you go with a clean, soft, dry cloth ; go care- 
fully round the edges, pressing all down ; should any air bubbles get between 
prick them with a strong needle, and press the spot down immediately. 



234 MANAGEMENT OF CLOCKS. 

Let the whole become gradually and thoroughly dry before you remove it 
from the stretcn ; when it is, cut the linen even with the edges, and have them 
bound round with narrow crimson or blue ribbon. With some large drawings 
or maps, that are on extra strong paper, a narrow strip of linen pasted round 
the edges on the back will be sufficient. 



MANAGEMENT OF CLOCKS. 



Hoiir to Clean a Metal Clock.. — Dip a feather into common paraffine 
oil, such as is used for lamps, and touch all the oily places of the clock, es- 
pecially axles and holes ; then let the clock stand a few hours, give more pa- 
raffine, and touch oftener if you think it is better for it. Afterward strew 
strong washing powder among the wheels, etc., and plunge the clock into a 
strong solution of the same in boiling water. 

Let it lie therein till the water gets cool enough to place your hands in, when, 
with a tooth brush rubbed with soap, wash out the dirt from the works. After- 
ward cleanse completely from all trace of soap and powder in plenty of warm 
water, and the operation is complete, the clock not having required to be taken 
to pieces at all. 

Many an old clock could be cleaned by this method, which, if taken apart even 
by skilled hands, would never tick again, owing to a change in a portion of the 
wheels when being placed together again. 

How to Make a Simple Alarm Clock. — Take a common weight 
clock and have a small hole in each of the boards that support the works inside, 
in any convenient place near the hammer. Having attached a small wire or 
string to the wire that makes the clock strike in regulating, pass it through the 
holes and under the time weight, through another hole in the case to the out- 
side, where, having secured it, you have an alarm clock that was never intended 
as such. 

The time weight in descending will press on the string and make the hammer 
strike until the whole weight runs down. To set the alarm, the time weight 
must be gauged in winding, as it descends about one half inch in three quarters 
of an hour. It will wake a person without frightening him, which some other 
alarms will not do. 

How to Level a Clock, — A clock can be placed in a position very 
nearly level by noting the swing of the clock door. The door should work 
easily upon the hinges to make the test. If the clock leans to the right the door 
will, when set straight front, swing clear open of itself. If the clock leans to 
the left, or backward, the door will shut of itself. If it leans front, the door 



HOME MADE BAROMETERS. 2^$, 

will remain half open. When the clock is level, the door will remain as readil>r 
in one position as another. 

A very cheap and readily made level cord consists of a large rifle ball or piece 
of lead, with a linen or silk thread attached. 

Separating^ and Cleaning^. — When taking a clock to pieces to clean^ 
note well how the pieces go together before separating. First, touch watch oil 
to the pivots, and run the wheels to loosen the dirt. Tie the springs with, 
strong cord, loosen the click spring, and let them down steadily by the key 
turning in the palm of the hand. If the two largest wheels of the trains are- 
alike, mark the strike side, that there may be no mistake in putting together. 
Wipe thoroughly every part of the works with a clean rag. 

If the clock is old, scrape with a sharp knife ; polish the pivots if at all rough 
or worn, and clean with a clean rag pressed well against the shoulder with the 
thumb nail. The pivot holes, if the pivots are worn rough, should be lightly 
scraped with a sharp reamer, and cleaned with a pine stick till they no longer 
blacken it. 



HOME MADE BAROMETERS. 



German Barometer. — A German communicated the following to a 
London paper : Take a common glass pickle bottle, wide mouthed ; fill it 
within three inches of the top with water ; then take a common Florence oil 
flask, removing the straw covering and cleansing the flask thoroughly, plunge 
in the neck of the flask as far as it will go, and the barometer is complete. 
In fine weather, the water will rise in the neck of the flask even higher than the 
mouth of the pickle bottle, and in wet, windy weather, will fall to within an 
inch of the mouth of the flask. Before a heavy gale of wind, the water has 
been seen to leave the flask altogether at least eight hours before the gale 
came to its height. 

A Oardener's Barometer, — Dissolve two and a half drams camphor 
in eleven fluid drams of alcohol. Put thirty-eight grains of nitrate of potash 
(saltpeter), and thirty-eight grains of muriate of ammonia (sal ammoniac), into 
nine fluid drams of water ; when all are perfectly dissolved, mix the two solu- 
tions. Shake them well in a two ounce or four ounce white glass vial, cork 
very loosely, or, better, tie over the mouth a piece of linen or cotton cloth, and 
place the instrument in a good light, out of the sunshine, where it can be ob- 
served without handling. 

When the weather is fine and clear, the fluid is also ; but on the least change, 
the chemicals, which lie as a sediment, rise, in beautiful frond-like crystals, pro- 
portionately and again duly subside. By watching these changes one soon be- 



t236 THE RAZOR AND ITS USE. 

comes able to predict the changes probable for a few hours to come in any 
locality ; so says the Journal of Chejnistry. 

This instrument is also a pretty philosophical toy, showing how sensitive some 
chemical solutions are to atmospheric influences. 

A Paper Barometer. — There is a cheap and very ingenious barometer 
described by a scientific journal, made of paper. It is recommended particularly 
±0 farmers : Take two sheets of pasteboard paper of any convenient size — say 
three feet long and two feet wide. Bring the ends together, and glue or paste 
them tight, each sheet by itself, and they will look like two pieces of paper stove- 
pipe. Cut thin round boards exactly to fit in the ends of these paper cylinders. 
Tack the heads in and paste or glue them air tight. 

Now you have two air tight paper drums with wooden heads. Take a pole 
of any length you desire — three feet or twelve feet — let one drum be fastened 
to each end of the pole. Now balance this pole with the drums on each end, 
on nice pivot, in the middle. Then bore a gimlet through the end of one drum, 
and you have a good farmer's barometer. One has a hole in it, so there will be 
more or less air in one drum than there is in another, according as the surround- 
ing air is dense or rarefied. 

Consequently, in dense or heavy air, the tight drum rises, while the one with 
the pinhole in it goes down. Crosswise through the middle of the bar or pole 
should run a stick as large as one's finger, a foot long, with wire gudgeons, on 
which the instrument should vibrate or teeter. 

Let the ends of the pole be slightly lower than the middle, that the whole does 
not make a somersault ; smear all with glue or oil, so that no air enters save in 
the puncture mentioned. 

Have something you can slide through the bar, to keep it nearly level. Mark, 
if you please, figures along the pole, to show how far you have moved the bal- 
ancing poise, though for this there is but little need. This instrument may not 
be so perfect as a costly barometer ; but for all practical purposes it is all one 
could ask. 



THE RAZOR AND ITS USE. 



Honing a Razor. — Shaving one's self is not an agreeable job at the 
best, and no man should ever attempt it with a razor of inferior quality, or one 
in poor condition. One method of sharpening a very dull razor is to put it for 
lialf an hour in water, to which has been added one-twentieth of its weight of 
muriatic or sulphuric acid ; then lightly wipe it off, and after a few hours set it 
on a hone. The acid here supplies the place of a whetstone by corroding the 



THE RAZOR AND ITS USE. 237 

whole surface evenly, so that nothing further than a smooth polish is necessary. 
The process, it is claimed, never injures good blades, while badly hardened 
ones are generally improved by it, although the cause remains unexplained. 

I have never tried the above process, and am satisfied with the use of a good 
hone and strop. For dressing down, use a fine Turkish stone perfectly clean 
and a good quality of olive oil. 

The blade of the razor is concave. The wedge-like edge extends in its bevel 
but a little way back. In honing a razor the fingers should feel the back as 
well as the edge blade bearing ; the back protects the edge. The motion 
should be the same as in honing a knife blade, circular. Few can hone a razor 
properly on the first trial, but a little practice with the points mentioned in view^ 
will enable one to do it as well as a barber. 

Stropping- a Razor. — It is as important that the strop be of first qual- 
ity as that the razor be of best material, for a good piece of steel cannot be 
brought down to a fine edge without the strop is a number one article. If soft, 
the leather rises suddenly as the edge passes over it and undoes what has just 
been done. 

It must be remembered that the edge of a razor that will cut a hair is very 
delicate. A blade should be drawn from heel to pcint, starting at the heel and 
drawing it diagonally to the point, and should be always turned on its back. 
Do not strop too much. A few strokes across the leather may put on a fine,, 
keen edge, when the addition of twenty more feather it up and destroy the cut. 

Ho'W to ReiiCAV a Strop. — Rub it over, lightly, with a little clean 
tallow, and then put upon it the top part of the snuff of a candle, which, being" 
a fine powder, will admirably supply the place of the best composition ever used 
for the purpose. Another mode of renovating a razor strop, recommended, is 
by rubbing it well with pewter, and impregnating the leather with the finest 
metallic particles. 

How to Use a Razor. — Previous to shaving, wash the face thoroughly 
With warm soap and water. If the beard is stiff and hard and the skin tender, 
spend considerable time in lathering and rubbing the cheeks and chin with the 
hand. Before applying the razor to the face, dip it into warm water and hold it 
there a few seconds. 

When shaving, do not scowl, and keep the razor verf nearlv flat upon the 
face, and give it a gliding or circular motion, that is, slightly, as the beard will 
cut much easier than when the edge is pushed squarely against it. Strop a 
little after finishing to assist, m making the razor perfectly dry to be put away. 

Cleaning a Razor Strop. — The honing side of a razor strop some- 
times becomes glazed so that it will not take hold of the steel. To remove this, 
I have used various liquids, such as soap suds, alcohol alone and alcohol and 
glycerine mixed, but have found nothing to equal a diluted solution of ammonia. 
A wet rag with the ammonia bottle tipped against it, will clean the hone. 



:238 GENERAL MISCELLANY. 

GENERAL MISCELLANY. 



To Take Iiiipre§sions of Coins. — Melt a little isinglass glue with 
brandy, and pour it thinly over the metal, so as to cover its whole surface ; let it 
remain on for a day or two, till it is thoroughly dried and hardened, and then 
taking it off it will be fine, clear, and as hard as a piece of glass, and will have 
a very elegant impression of the coin. It will also resist the effects of damp 
air, which occasions all other kinds of glue to soften and bend if not prepared 
in this way. 

How to Harden a Poker. — The fire poker, by constant use, becomes 
soft, and is generally more or less bent. This arises from its being left in the 
fire and becoming red hot, then being put on the fender, where it slowly cools 
— an operation which softens even the best steel. When the poker has thus 
become soft and bent, it may be again hardened by making it hot two or three 
times, and plunging it every time that it is heated into a pail of cold water. 

To Make Matches Water-proof. — It is said that friction matches 
•can be made perfectly water-proof under any circumstances, by dipping them, 
when completed in the ordinary way, in a solution formed by adding two parts 
oi glycerine to one hundred of collodion. 

How to Mend a Kettle. — Holes in the bottom of iron kettles may be 
-Stopped by driving in plugs of lead and heading them down on both sides of 
the iron. So long as water is in the kettle the lead will not melt. A cement 
said to be good is made by mixing six parts of well pulverized, dry clay and 
-one part iron filings ; make into a paste with boiled linseed oil. 

A Cheap Oilding. — By rubbing a metallic surface with soda amalgam, 
and pouring on a solution of chloride of gold, gold is taken up by the amalgam, 
and it is only necessary to drive off the mercury by heat to obtain a gilded sur- 
face that will bear polishing. 

To Improve Oilding^. — Mix a gill of water with two ounces of purified 
niter, one ounce of alum, and one ounce of common salt ; lay this over gilt 
articles with a brush, and the color will be much improved. 

To Make Writing Look Old.— Take one dram of saffron, and infuse 
it into one-half pint of ink, and warm it over a gentle fire, and it will cause 
whatever is written with it to turn yellow, and appear as if of many years 
standing. 

How to Make Pewter. — This metal is made by mixing twenty parts 
of tin with eight parts of lead. 

To Take Tin from Copper.— Tin can be removed from copper 
vessels very thoroughly by immersing the objects in a solution of blue vitriol. 

To {Sharpen a Hoe. — Screw the shank in a vise, and with a flat saw 
file bevel the side of the edge next the handle. 



GENERAL MISCELLANY. 239 

I^acing^ for Sewing Machine Belts. — An old kid glove makes ex- 
cellent lacing for securing small belts on sewing and other machines. Cut the 
glove into strips half an inch wide, and roll them up tight. 

To Mend Rubber Hose. — Cut the hose apart where it is defective; 
obtain a piece of a shot gun barrel or iron pipe ten or twelve inches long ; force 
the hose over it until the ends meet, and wrap with strong twine well Waxed. 

To Prevent Boilers Corroding, — Protzen recommends the introduc- 
tion of a piece of zinc into a boiler. This determines a galvanic current which 
protects the iron against oxidation and corrosion, and causes the mineral in- 
gredients of the water to be deposited as a fine, loose mud, entirely preventing 
the formation of a " crock." 

To Prevent Plaster of Paris Hardening. — It is often desirable, 
in using plaster of Paris, in the ordinary way, to prevent its hardening too 
rapidly. This may be easily done by adding a saturated solution of borax to 
the water in suitable proportion. One volume of the solution to twelve of 
water will prevent hardening for fifteen minutes ; while with equal parts this 
"will not take place for ten or twelve hours. 

To Detect Escaping Oas. — It is usual to detect gas escapes by apply- 
ing a lighted taper or candle to the suspected place of leakage. A safer mode 
is as follows : Mix soap and water in the proportion of two pounds of the 
former to five or seven pints of the latter. The sticky liquid so obtained is 
ready to be applied with a brush to the gas pipe, when, if an escape is taking 
place, bubbles will readily be seen on the liquid, and the position of the escape 
indicated without any danger. 

Oypsum Dominos. — It is said that gypsum, mixed with four per cent, 
of powdered marshmallow root, will harden in about an hour, and then can be 
sawed or turned, and made into dominos, dice, etc. With eight per cent, 
marshmallow the hardness is increased, and allows of its being rolled out into 
thin plates and painted or polished. 

To Make Modeling Clay. — Knead dry clay with glycerine instead of 
water, and a mass is obtained which continues moist and plastic for a length of 
time. This removes one of the greatest inconveniences that is experienced by 
the modeler. 

Alloy for Models. — A good alloy for making working models is four 
parts copper, one part tin, and three fourth parts zinc. This is easily wrought. 
Doubling the proportion of zinc increases the hardness. 

How to Soften Resin. —Melt the resin, and while in a state of fusion 
add tar. The proper degree of hardness can be ascertained by dropping a 
small portion of the melted mass into water. 

Alloy for Bells. — Alloy celebrated for its bright color, like German silver, 
and its high, clear sweetness of sound, is made of 18.22 copper and 16.76 tin. 
When properly cast and smoothly turned, this furnishes a renowned bell. 



240 



GENERAL MISCELLANY. 



Chalk for Rubber Joints.— In making rubber joints always chalk the 
approximating surfaces, as, no matter what heat they are exposed to, they will 
always readily separate afterward. 

To Button a Stiff Collar. — Well laundried collars and cuffs are too 
stiff to button without considerable trouble. They may be instantly made plia- 
ble at the button hole by touching the tongue to that spot. 

To Stop a Mouse Hole. — Use plugs of common hard soap, and you 
will do it effectually ; rats, roaches and ants will not attempt to get through it. 

Cleanings CrUtta-perclia. — This can be done by using a mixture of 
soap and powdered charcoal, polishing afterward with a dry cloth with a 
little charcoal on it. 

Fillings Cracks in Ceiling's. — Whiting mixed with glue — ^water or cal- 
cined plaster and water, makes a good putty for filling cracks in plastered ceil- 
ings. 

A Fresket Bridg^e. — Sometimes trouble arises from foot bridges over 
small streams being carried away by freshets. To obviate this, use a single 




CHEAP FRESHET BRIDGE. 



plank with the end next to the house, or side of approach, fastened to a stake 
by a piece of chain, as illustrated. When the rush of water comes, the plank is 
swept around and is ready to be replaced. To put the plank across, raise it on 
end and let it drop to the opposite bank. 

To Harden "Wooden Pulleys. — Boil the pulley for about eight or 
ten minutes in olive oil, then let it stand in a warm place for a few days before 
using. 

Ho^w to Bleack Sponge. — Soak the sponge well in diluted muriatic 
acid for twelve hours. Wash well with water, then immerse it in a solution of 
hyposulphite of soda, to which dilute muriatic acid had been added a mo- 
ment before. After it is bleached sufficiently, remove it, wash again and dry it. 
It may thus be bleached almost snow white. 

Sizing for Sign Work. — One of the best sizings for sign work is made 
by exposing boiled linseed oil to a strong heat in a pan ; when it begins 
to cmoke, set fire to the oil, allow it to burn a moment, and then suddenly ex- 



GENERAL MISCELLANY. 24I 

tinguish it by covering the pan. When cold it will be ready for use, but will 
require thinning with a little turpentine. 

To Clean intone. — Boil a pound of pipe clay in three pints of water and 
a quart of vinegar ; put in a bit of stone blue. Wash with this mixture, and 
when quite dry, rub with dry flannel and a brush of moderate stiffness. Sweep 
off the fine dust thus raised with a clean hand brush. 

To Tin Metallic Articles, — Plates, or vessels of brass, iron or copper, 
boiled with a solution of stannate of potassa, mixed with turnings of tin, 
become in the course of a few minutes covered with a firmly attached layer of 
pure tin. A similar effect is produced by boiling the articles with tin filings 
and caustic alkali, or cream of tartar. 

Uniting' L-ead and Zinc. — These two metals do not really unite. 
When melted together and allowed to cool slowly, the lead falls to the bottom. 
If kept together in fusion and repeatedly stirred, the zinc sublimes with great 
rapidity. 

To Mend a Water Pot, — When a water pot rusts through where the 
sides join the bottom, it is not necessary to throw it away, as the holes may be 
effectually stopped without going to the tinker's, by covering them inside with a 
small piec3 of linen dipped in copal varnish, the tin being previously thoroughly 
dried. When the varnish hardens by drying, they are perfectly water-tight. 

Alloy for Journal Soxes, — Twenty-four pounds of copper, twenty- 
four pounds of tin and eight pounds of antimony. Melt the copper first, then 
add the tin and lastly the antimony. It should be first run into ingots, then, 
melted and cast in the form required for the boxes. 

To M.eep Sails from Mildewing*. — To treat sails so that they will not 
mildew, impregnate with strong, hot soapsuds, press out the excess and 
immerse in strong alum water, or in weak lead acetate solution ; rinse, and 
repeat the soap if necessary. 

To Remove Finger Marks, — Ammonia will remove finger marks 
from paint, where there would otherwise have to be a good deal of scrubbing 
with soap, which takes the paint off also. 

Hoiv to Burn Lrime. — Place a layer of wood six or eight inches thick 
(or deep) oq the ground, leaving arches about four feet apart, formed by laying 
two pieces of timber ten or twelve inches apart, and then laying a flat piece on 
top of them, extending from side to side of the kiln. On this foundation put a. 
layer of coal, say six inches thick ; then a layer of lime stone eight or ten inches 
thick ; then another layer of coal alternately until all is on ; then cover with dirt 
and keep covered all but a little at the top for ventilation. Use one bushel of 
coal to two of lime stone. The arches are for starting the fire. After the fire 
is well started, close the arches with clay. 

To Test Coins. — The best test for a suspected coin is to weigh it against 
a piece which is evidently genuine. The instrument called a " detector," used 



242 GENERAL MISCELLANY. 

for bending coin, does not prove that a coin is not genuine ; neither does " ring- 
ing it," for genuine coins may be easily rendered "dumb " by a erack. Coun- 
terfeit silver coins are most easily detected through the difficulty of imitating 
the " milling " or " lettering " on the edge. 

To Martole tlie IJctge of a Uook. — Dissolve four ounces of gum 
arable in two quarts of clear water ; then provide several colors mixed with 
water in pots or shells, and with pencils peculiar to each color, sprinkle them 
by way of intermixture upon the gum water, which must be put into a trough, 
or some broad vessel, then with a stick curl them or draw them out in streaks 
to as much variety as required. 

Having done this, hold the book or books close together and only dip the 
edges in on the top of the water and colors very lightly ; which done, take them 
off, and the plain impression of the colors in mixture will be upon the leaves ; 
doing as well the end as the front of the books in the same manner. 

lliii§trel Powder, — To make blacking for the face to be used in min- 
strelsy, collect a few corks, cut them in small pieces, dip each piece in alcohol 
and put it in an iron kettle. After all are dipped, touch a flaming taper to the 
pile and it will burn down to black ashes. Sift through a wire sieve and wet 
the dust with stale beer or water, into a thick paste, and put this in a tin box 
for use. To black up, take a little of the paste in the palm of the hand and wet 
it a little, rub and apply as if washing the face. It will give a glossy black that 
can be removed by soap and water. Beer, for mixing the paste, gives more 
gloss than water. 

Saw<lu§t for S>riiled Iron. — Irons that have been drilled or operated 
upon in any other way where oil is used, should be placed in a box of saw- 
dust of non-resinous wood and be well rubbed. This will absorb the oil and 
save much trouble and expense in filing. The sawdust should be changed, as 
it soon becomes dirty. Blacksmiths will find a box of this material standing 
*near their forge a convenient and profitable thing. 

Wewly Sa^^^ed lloard§. — Do not allow newly sawed boards to lie spread 
^ipon the ground at home or at the mill. Put them up with sticks when they 
tirst leave the saw, or a portion will be spoiled by warping. 

Brace for a Kicfeiaig^ ffl©r§e. — Take a forked stick about two feet 
long, varying a Httle according to the size of the horse, tie the fork firmly to 
each end of the bridle bit, and the other end of the stick to the lower end of 
the collar, so as to keep the head up, and this will prevent his kicking. A few 
■days working in this manner will commonly suffice to effect a cure. Horses 
are more apt to kick. when turning in plowing or harrowing than any other 
cime, from the tugs chafing the legs. 

To Make a Siion^ Sliovel. — Take a hard piece of half inch lumber 
a^bout a foot wide and seventeen inches long, and plane down at one end until 
a. rounding edge is formed, then upon the back end screw a piece of tough wood 



GENERAL MISCELLANY. 



243 



three quarters of an inch thick, five inches wide, and as long as the board is 
wide. In the center, from end to end, and well up toward the top edge, bore a 
hole slanting downward and forward, so that the handle when passed through 
the hole will strike the board five or six inches in front of the cross piece. 
Bevel the end of the handle to fit the shovel board, and fasten it with a staple 
or a screw driven up through the board into the handle. The handle should be 
long enough to work without stooping, and the whole thing should be as light 
as possible. 




HOME MADE SNOW SHOViiL. 



Fancy Ash Receiver. — Make the frame of wood of any pattern desired, 
line it with tin, fasten a strong copper wire across the top, and cover the 
outside with spruce or other limbs, put on in a rustic fashion. 

How to Make a Tether. — To make a tether that will insure safety, 
take two light, dry poles or strips of plank eight and ten feet long ; connect 
these poles by a chain of a few links, the middle link having a swivel such as is 
common in trace chains. At the end of each pole is a piece of iron in the 
form of a loop, embracing two sides of the pole and projecting a little beyond 
the end, in which a link of each end of the chain is fixed. 

At the other end of the long pole is attached a ring, two inches in diameter, 
by a similar loop. This end is staked down, the ring allowing it to run freely 
around the stake. 



0^ 



^0 



CHEAP AND EFFECTUAL TETHER POLE. 



At the other end of the short pole is attached a smaller ring by a similar 
loop, to which a halter is tied until the horses become accustomed to it. After 
a time a collar around the neck of the horse will answer. 

Test for Oold and Silver. — One test for gold and silver is a piece of 
lunar caustic. Slightly wet the metal to be tested and rub it gently with the 
caustic. If gold or silver, the mark will be faint ; but if an inferior metal, it 
will be quite black. 

HoAV to Silver Ivory. — Immerse a small slip of ivory in a weak solu- 



244 GENERAL MISCELLANY. 

tion of nitrate of silver, and let it remain until the solution has given it a deep 
yellow color ; then take it out and immerse it in a tumbler of clear water, and 
expose it in the water to the rays of the sun. In about three hours the ivory 
acquires a black color, but the black surface on being rubbed off soon becomes 
changed to a brilliant silver. 

Tempering- Steel Tools. — Different tools need to be tempered differ- 
ently, as different degrees of hardness are required for different purposes, and 
the degree of heat for each of these, with the corresponding color, will be 
found in the annexed table. Very pale straw color, 430 degrees, the temper 
required for lancets. A shade of darker yellow, 450 degrees — for razors and 
surgical instruments. Darker straw yellow, 470 degrees — for penknives. Still 
darker yellow, 490 degrees — chisels for cutting iron. A brown yellow, 500 de- 
grees — axes and plane irons. Yellow, slightly tinged with purple, 520 degrees 
— table knives and watch springs. 

To Prevent Boiler Scales. — Many substances are employed for the 
purpose of preventing the formation of scales in boilers. Among these, which 
act chemically, are soda ash, chloride of barium, carbonate of ammonia, chloride 
of ammonia, and tannin or extract of oak bark. 

Fastening's of Belts. — A belt, to run evenly and steadily, should have 
but one lace joint. The ends of the leather should come together at right angles 
with the sides. The laces should not be crossed on the inside ; and care must 
be taken to put them in evenly and of equal strength at the two edges of the 
belt. 

In case rivets are employed, the heads should be let in on the inside surface 
of the belt, so as to leave no obstructing points to come in contact with the 
pulley, the washers being placed on the outer surface. 

Uses for Pumice Stone. — Pumice stone in lump is excellent for scouring 
wood in finishing work ; for domestic scouring, for reducing corns on the feet, 
and in powder, it is the best material for scouring down varnish, and no one 
need have rough and dirty or stained hands, who will use it when required. 

To Bronze Plaster Casts. — To make a good green bronze, such as is 
used for French statuary, dissolve one ounce sal ammoniac, three ounces cream 
tartar, six ounces common salt, in one pint of hot water ; add two ounces cop- 
per nitrate in a pint of hot water. Mix well together, and apply with a brush. 

Aniline Bronzing Fluid. — Take ten parts of aniline red and five of 
aniline purple, and dissolve in one hundred parts of alcohol at 95°, taking care 
to help the solution by placing the vessel in a sand or water bath. As soon as 
the solution is effected, five parts of benzoic acid are added, and the whole is 
boiled from five to ten minutes, until the greenish color of the mixture is trans- 
formed into a fine, light colored bronze. This bronze is stated to be very bril- 
liant, and to be applicable to all metals, as well as to other substances. It is 
easily laid on with a brush, and dries promptly. 



GENERAL MISCELLANY. 245 

Seaiitiful Black Color for Bronze. — A strong, concentrated thin 
solution of nitrate of silver is required for this purpose. It should be mixed 
with an equal solution of nitrate of copper, and well shaken together. The 
pieces which require coloring are dipped into this solution and left for a short 
time. When taken out, they should be equally heated till the required black 
color makes its appearance. 

Runiimg' Balance of Mill Stones. — T\\^ Miller s Journal s^ys \}s\2X 
you should first put the stone in standing balance, and then put two one-half 
inch boards between the burrs, and turn the runner off as true as possible. 
Now take out the two boards, and run the stone up to its regular speed, and 
with a pencil steadied by the same rest used in turning off the stone, pencil the 
top of the stone, which will show you the side that raises. Add lead on that 
side next the band till the pencil touches evenly all around. 

Of course the burrs are out of standing balance. Now find the amount of 
lead requisite to put it back in standing balance, and put it in, one-half above 
and one-half below the line, straight and level with the cock-head and opposite 
the lead used in getting the running balance. The burrs are then in both stand- 
ing and running balance. 

To Mend a Steam-Pipe. — A correspondent of the Scientific American 
says a pipe may be mended so that it will stand both heat and water by a mix- 
ture made of glycerine and enough litharge to form a paste as thick as putty. 
Use while soft. 

Use of Stucco. — This substance, much in use for walls, pillars, etc., is 
at present prepared by mixing plaster of Paris with a solution of gelatine or 
glue, instead of with water. This, while stiffening more slowly, becomes much 
harder than with water alone. 

When the mass has been suitably applied, and sufficiently hardened, the sur- 
face is to be moistened and rubbed down with pumice stone until smooth. It 
is finally to be coated by means of a brush with a concentrated solution of 
gelatine, and when perfectly dried, it may be polished with tripoli on a buffer. 

To Mend Iron Shafts. — Shafts of cast iron may be mended, when 
broken, by pouring on melted iron to form the part required, the pouring being 
continued with a surplus of metal until the new parts are fused upon the old. 

How to Make a Tethering Screw. — Take a piece of iron rod about 
two feet long, pointed at one end and twisted at that end into one or two 
corkscrew spirals. The other end is bent to form an eye that will admit a 
stick like a piece of broom handle, and also large enough to hold the ring on 
the end of the tethering cham close to the ground. When made, it is about 
fifteen inches long. It may be easily screwed down into the earth, but cannot 
be drawn out by the tethered animal. 

How to Split Cast Iron. — Large masses of cast iron may easily be split 
by drilling holes in them, and filling with water. A steel plug being inserted 



246 GENERAL MISCELLANY. 

as a piston, a short, quick blow with a light steam hammer causes the water to 
exert a pressure in all directions sufficient to burst the mass. A plate twenty- 
nine and a half inches thick was thus split like a block of ice ; and the pieces 
flew from twenty to thirty feet by the immense force. 

Clieap Asli Sifter. — Take an old flour barrel, bore two holes eight inches 
from the top and eight inches apart through the staves, then two more directly 
opposite. Use a three-quarter auger and drive in old broom handles. This 
makes a platform for the sieve to rest upon. Next, cut out a piece of stave on 
one side between the holes and above them for the sieve handle to work in. 
Fit a board over the top for cover, and the thing is complete. 

To Make Deep Crold Laequer. — Seed-lac, three ounces ; turmeric, 
one ounce ; dragon's blood, one-fourth ounce ; alcohol, one pint ; digest for a 
week, frequently shaking, decant and filter. Lacquers are used upon polished 
metals to impart the appearance of gold. If yellow is required, use turmeric, 
aloes, saffron, or gamboge ; for red, use annotto or dragon's blood to color. 
Turmeric, gamboge and dragon's blood generally afford a sufficient range of 
colors. 

To Pre§erve Flower Stakes. — Take common coal tar and bring it to 
the boiling point in a kettle some twelve inches deep ; place the lower part of 
stakes in the boiling tar, immersing them as deeply as the pot will allow. After 
they have remained therein about ten minutes, take them out, allow the surplus 
tar to drain off, and roll the hard portion in clean, sharp sand, covering every part 
of the tar. After they have become perfectly dry, give them another coat of tar, 
completely covering the sanded part. 

To Make an ^olian Harp. — Of very thin cedar, pine, or other soft 
wood make a box five or six inches deep, seven or eight inches wide, and of a 
length just equal to the width of the window in which it is to be placed. 
Across the top, near each end, glue a strip of wood half an inch high and a 
quarter of an inch thick, for bridges. 

Into the ends of the box insert wooden pins, like those of a violin, to wind 
the strings around, two pins in each end. Make a sound hole in the middle of 
the top, and string the box with small cat-gut or blue first-fiddle strings. 

Fastening one end of each string to a metallic pin in one end of the box, and, 
carrying it over the bridges, wind it around the turning pin in the opposite end 
of the box. 

The ends of the box should be increased in thickness where the wooden pins 
enter, by a piece of wood glued upon the inside. Tune the strings in unison 
and place the box in the window. It is better to have four strings, as described, 
but a harp with a single string produces an exceedingly sweet melody of notes, 
which vary with the force of the wind. 

To Protect Fruit from Birds. — Take a ball of brown thread, fasten 
the end of it to one of the twigs of the tree or bush, and then cross the thread 



GENERAL MISCELLANY. 247 

backward from twig to twig in perhaps a dozen different directions, fasten, 
and the thing is done ; and it will last two years. The birds come boldly to 
settle on the trees and they strike against these, to them, invisible snares, and 
they fly off in a terrible hurry, not to return again. 

A Cheap Lactometer. — A cheap milk tester may be made by getting a 
glass bulb and stem, both hollow, and loading the bulb with shot until the in- 
strument will float upright in pure milk, Mark on the stem the point to which 
it sinks — the surface point. Remove it from the milk and float it in pure water, 
marking the surface point as before, which will be considerably higher on the 
stem than the other mark. Now take a narrow slip of paper, capable of being 
rolled lengthwise, and insert it in the stem of the instrument so that the figures 
on it will be visible through the glass. 

Lay off on this, in the direction of its length, a space equal to the distance be- 
tween the two surface points, numbering the one o and the other 100, Subdi- 
vide this space into ten or twenty proportional spaces, correspondingly num- 
bered ; roll the slip and insert it in the stem until the o is at the surface 
point of the milk, the 100 at the point of the water. Your lactometer is now 
complete. 

Float it in your milk can every morning, and the depth to which it sinks will 
register the percentage of dishonest water, if any, the milk contains. 

Care of Large Bellows. — The cause of holes in the bellows, unless 
they are punctured from carelessness, is due to friction only. The bellows is 
never cleaned from the time it is put up until it becomes necessary to send it 
away for repairs. 

The oil used in the process of currying causes the small particles of dirt, dust 
and cinders, which are continually moving about the smithy, to adhere to the 
leather, and every time the bellows is manipulated these little particles do just 
so much grinding or cutting of the leather, until there is a small hole formed. 

The bellows ought to be cleaned on the outside thoroughly once a week, or 
as much oftener as the time of the helper will permit. The leather of the bel- 
lows never ought to be oiled, unless it is placed in a position to be attacked 
with mildew, and when oiled ought to be cleaned often. 

Pruning Rose Bushes. — Upon those rose bushes that bloom but once 
a year — summer roses as they are called — it is best to prune pretty severely as 
soon as the period of blooming is over, unless it should be very dry, in which 
case defer pruning until just as the fall growth begins. By this course abun- 
dance of young spurs or shoots, for flowering the next season, are produced. 

Approximate Strength of Metals. — A bar of cast lead, one inch 
square, breaks under a strain of 860 pounds ; a bar of cast gold of similar di- 
mensions will break under a strain of 22,000 pounds ; a bar of cast silver will 
not break until the strain reaches 44,500 pounds ; a bar of cast iron will remain 
intact until the strain exceeds 59,000 pounds ; the best wrought iron will bear 



248 GENERAL MISCELLANY. 

a weight of 84,000 pounds to a bar an inch square ; and a similar bar of steel 
has been made of such tenacity as to lift 150,000 pounds before breaking. 

Clieap ISairglar Alarm. — It is simply a little brass wedge with a small 
piece of the same metal attached to its sloping side. The wedge has only to be 
pushed from the inside, between the closed door and the door sill. No other 
fastening is necessary, as any attempt to open the door only tightens the wedge. 
A percussion cap may be inserted between the wedge and the piece of the metal 
riveted upon it ; the shghtest attempt to force the door will explode the percus- 
sion cap and frighten the intruder. 

This style of wedge may be made of hard wood, with a little piece of tin riv- 
eted on, under which to place the torpedo. In this case, the tin should begin 
low down at the sharp end of the wedge, so as to protect it. 

A hole may be bored in the wedge so that it may be temporarily secured to 
the floor (with a nail or pocket gimlet), about three inches in front of the door. 
In this way, any attempt to open the door is sure to meet with failure and de- 
tection at the same instant. 

HoikV to SSuild a Corduroy Road. — " In marsh or bog lands," says 
Mr. Nicholl, " first lay all small poles or brush transversely and across the road; 
next take long trees — the smallest ends being at least of ten inches diameter — 
and lay them longitudinally along on these poles and brush, in two rows, eight 
feet apart from center to center, making the ends at the junction of each piece 
lap each other, at least three feet, breaking joint on either side and placing 
under these ends large logs, of sufficient length to extend across the road, and 
two feet on each side of these stringers. 

" Cover these stringers with transverse logs, twelve feet long from scarf to 
scarf, and at least ten inches in diameter at the smallest end, fitted close to- 
gether, on the straight portions ; the logs alternated with a large and small end ; 
and on the outer side of curves all the large ends, which will assist in the cur- 
vature of the road and the gravity of the vehicles. Next adze off the center 
ridges of these logs to a face of about five inches for the width of nine feet in 
the center of the roadway, and cover this nine feet with gravel to fill in between 
the logs and give a smooth surface." 

Care In tlie Careen House. — Many persons having charge of green 
houses, the propagation of vines, plants, etc., make the destructive blunder of 
getting up too much heat, early in spring. Bottom heat is desirable for cut- 
tings, and it may range from 80 to 100 degrees without loss, provided air is 
given to the surface, not less than 1 5 to 20 degrees below that point. 

Plants, like geraniums, roses, etc., in the ordinary green house, should have 
no heat above 60 deg. ranging through the house, and it should be down to 45 
or 50 at night. Too much and great heat until almost, if not quite, April, gives 
a spongy, sickly condition to the plants, so that they are, for outdoor planting, 
in May, but little better than cuttings. 



GENERAL MISCELLANY. 249 

Sul>§titiite for Fire Brick. — When the fire bricks of a stove have 
burned away, a very good substitute may be used until new bricks can be ob- 
tained. Mix one part of salt with tv/o parts of coal ashes, wetting with water. 
Apply this to the inside of the stove in the place of the fire brick. It hardens 
in a few hours, and answers a very good purpose. Cracks in stoves may be 
mended the same way, or the bottoms of well worn ash pails and coal buckets. 

Enamel for Copper. — The beautiful enameled surface may be pro- 
duced, on a black ground, by the following process : Clean the copper with 
sand and sulphuric acid, and then apply the following mixture ; two parts of 
white arsenic, four parts of hydrochloric acid, one of sulphuric acid, and twenty- 
four of water. 

Bronzing^ Copper Urns. — The surface, first made thoroughly clean 
and bright, is covered with a thick coat of rouge and water ; when dry, the ar- 
ticle is placed in a clear hollow fire (say a chamber of bricks, red hot), for a 
short time, until the rouge has turned to the desired shade of color. Then the 
article is placed on a suitable stand, and polished with a soft brush and rouge 
powder, and afterward with soft leather. The tinning and soldering are sub- 
sequent operations. 

To Clean all Sorts of Metals. — Mix half a pint of refined neat's- 
foot oil, and half a gill of spirits of turpentine. Scrape fine a little rotten stone, 
wet a woolen rag, dip it into the scraped stone, and rub the metal well. Wipe 
it off with a soft cloth, and polish with dry leather. 

How to Weld Copper. — According to a German writer, copper may 
"be welded perfectly by means of a powder, consisting either of pure salt of 
phosphorus, or of a mixture of this with boracic acid. The latter is cheaper, 
but does not give quite so fluid a slag as the former. The welding powder is 
to be scattered over the copper after being brought to a red heat, and then 
heated to a cherry red, or to an incipient yellow glow. The combination of the 
parts, when hammered together, is at least as perfect as that of iron. 

To Protect Lead Pipes.— Plaster of Paris offers the best protection 
for lead pipes. Wherever lead pipes pass through a wall they should be laid in 
gypsum, over which mortar or cement can then be safely laid. 

Lime Scales in a Feed Water Pipe. — A correspondent writes: 
" Having been very much annoyed by the choking up of lime scale in the feed 
water pipes to a stationary boiler, and having burst several of them while trying 
to bore out and beat out the deposit, which was almost as hard as marble, I 
thought of a new remedy, which proved to be completely successful. A can of 
refined coal oil was standing near where we were working, and, plugging up 
one end of the pipe, half a pint was poured in and shaken about till the scale 
seemed to be saturated with it. The remainder of the oil was then poured out, 
and on knocking the pipe the contents slid out round and solid. The oil 
seemed to destroy its connection with the metal altogether. 



250 GENERAL MISCELLANY. 

Protecting Water Pipes in Winter. — In pumping up water into 
the cistern for the water-closet, be very particular in winter time. Let all the 
water be let out of the pipe when done ; but if this is forgotten, and it should 
be frozen, take a small gimlet and bore a hole in the pipe, a little distance from 
the place where it is let off, which will prevent its bursting. Put a peg into the 
hole when the water is let off. 

When the frost begins to set in, cover the exposed water pipes with hay 
or straw bands, twisted tight round them. 

j^trength of Ropes. — A good rope, one inch in diameter, will bear, it is 
estimated, about 5,000 lbs., but should not be subjected to more than half this 
strain. 

Wire rope is more than twice the strength of hemp rope of the same cir- 
cumference ; splicing a rope is supposed to weaken it one eighth. 

The strongest description of hemp rope is untarred, white, three stranded 
rope ; and the next in the scale of strength is the common three strand, hawser 
laid rope, tarred. 

To Hold a Face in Wax. — Take a pound of new wax, a third of col- 
ophony ; melt them at a slow fire ; let the substance cool until you may endure 
some of it on your hand without burning it ; then having oiled the face with 
olive oil, cover the hair of the eyelids and eyebrows with paste ; then with a 
brush nimbly cover the face about the thickness of a quarter of a dollar, being 
careful not to stop the nostrils, and that the person does not squeeze his eyes 
together, because that will render the face deformed. 

Thus, having the face of wax, take it off gently and strengthen it with clay 
on the back side, that it may not give way. After this manner you may cast all 
sorts of faces — laughing, weeping, grimaces or wry faces. 

To Use the Siphon. — The siphon is a round tube bent in a half circle, 
or nearly so. To use it fill with water and plug both ends ; then place one end 
in a bucket or vessel of any kind filled with water and open the ends. Water 
will go up hill in traversing the curved tube and continue to flow so long as the 
supply lasts. Another way to start a small siphon is to place one end while it 
is empty in the water and start the water running by suction. 

The siphon is a convenient thing to empty an aquarium with, as it does not 
disturb the fishes. Large siphons may be used to bring water from elevated 
wells to a residence ; that is, the siphon brings the water to a point where con- 
ducting pipes are laid. By stopping the siphon at the discharge end it will 
readily start again when the flow is desired. 

To Take Impressions of Hedals. — Melt a little isinglass glue made 
with brandy, and pour it thinly over the medal so as to cover its whole surface ; 
let it remain for a day or two, till it be thoroughly dry and hardened, and then, 
taking it off, it will be fine, clear and hard as a piece of glass, and will have a 
very elegant impression of the coin. 



GENERAL MISCELLANY. 



251 



To "Wrap a Pencil. — To wrap a split pencil, pen stalk, or other small 
stick, take a linen or silk thread, and use the process described under head of 
the " Binding Knot," or if it is desired to bind very tight, begin by winding 
over the first end without the loop, then at the conclusion hold the thread 
firmly under the ball of the left thumb, and cut it off close. After coating the 
end with mucilage, tuck it under with the dull point of a knife or fork tine, and 
press it down firmly. 

Strawberry Vine Trimmer, — Procure a common chopping knife, 
such as is used in the kitchen, one having a single standard in the center for 
handle. Take off the hand piece and put in its place 
a part of a rake handle, the knife shaft going into the 
end of the stick. Vines can be rapidly and easily 
trimmed with this, as one can stand erect to perform 
the work. 

Liime Stains. — When a house is being plastered, 
if the floors were previously covered to the depth of 
half an inch or more with sand, a great deal of extra 
work in removing stains and cleaning could thus be 
avoided. Straw, although sometimes used, will not 
answer the purpose, but sawdust will. When plaster- 
ing, the wood work is always more or less spattered 
with lime or water, which it is tedious to remove, 
unless one knows the easiest way, which has been 
found to be by rubbing it after it becomes dry with 
coarse sand paper and then with finer quality ; washing 
is then unnecessary. 

Artificial Stone. — Make sand or gravel into a 
paste with fluid silicate of soda (water-glass), mold it 
to the desired shape, and dip into a solution of chloride 
of calcium. This solution is made by neutralizing 
muriatic acid with lime, chalk, limestone, or marble. 
The mass becomes solid in a few minutes, and is ex- 
ceedingly strong and durable. 

How to Select Hinges. — A carpenter gives a 
simple method of selecting right from left handed, loose 
jointed butts or hinges which may be useful to many, 
as it has often saved considerable trouble and annoyance in sending inexpe- 
rienced persons to the stores for such articles : 

" Take up the closed hinge from the counter and open it from you, holding it 
in both hands ; if you wish for right handed ones, hold fast with the right hand,, 
letting it go with the left. If the hinge remain intact it is right handed, but if it 
falls to pieces or apart, it is left handed. Holding fast with the left and letting go- 




STRAWBERRY VINE TRIMMER. 



252 GENERAL MISCELLANY. 

with the right, will prove which is which by a similar test. I have seen many 
a score of people puzzled to tell one hinge from another, until I showed the 
above simple plan, when it was a mystery no longer." 

The Spring" JSo^v. — The spring bow is simply an elastic stick or a piece 
■of whalebone a foot or more long, with a fine, stout string tied from end to 
■end, so as to bend the bow somewhat. By giving it a cross lap around a drill 
which has a little pulley upon it, the tool may be worked very rapidly by draw- 
ing and shoving the bow. Support the head of the drill under the ball of the 
left forefinger. 

Bricks for Keeping Fire. — Mix coal, charcoal, or sawdust, one part; 
sand, of any kind, two parts ; marl or clay, one part ; in quantity as thought 
proper. Make the mass up wet, into bricks or balls of a convenient size, and 
when the fire is sufficiently strong, place these bricks according to size, a 
little above the top bar, and they will produce a heat considerably more intense 
than common fuel, and insure a saving of one-half the quantity of coals. A 
iire thus made up will require no stirring, and will need no fresh food for ten 
liours. 

How to See Up a Chimney. — Place in the hole of the chimney wall 
into which the stove pipe is to go, a piece of mirror inclined at an angle of 
fort)^-five degrees. If the observer can see the light of the sky, he will also see 
the whole interior of the chimney and any obstruction in the same. As most 
chimneys are straight and perpendicular, reflection will make the top opening 
clearly visible. 

To Make a Olass Checker Board. — Procure a pane of glass fifteen 
inches square, rub the edges with a piece of stone so that the fingers may not 
be cut, clean the glass, lay it flat on a table, mark a line one and one-half 
inches from the edge on each of the four sides ; by that means you have a 
square inside of twelve inches, which, if divided into one and one-half inch 
.squares, will give sixty-four squares, the number required for a chess board. 

When the outside lines are drawn, draw eight lines from top to bottom ; 
when dry, draw the eight cross lines. When the cross lines are finished, fill in 
the squares with paint. Black and bright yellow have a very good effect. Let 
the lines dry before filling in. Fill in the black first, working left to right ; start 
in the left hand corner ; when quite dry, fill in the yellow. Let the outside be 
different color from the squares, say blue or any color to suit the fancy. 

When the glass board is finished and put in a frame with a drawer beneath, 
it has a very neat and handsome appearance. 

To Imitate Ivory. — Make isinglass and brandy into a paste, with pow- 
dered egg shells very finely ground. You may give it what color you please ; 
but cast it warm into your mold, which you previously oil over. Leave the 
figure in the mold till dry, and you will find on taking it out, that it bears a very 
strong resemblance to ivory. 



GENERAL MISCELLANY. 253 

Ho^v to ThaAF Out a Water Pipe. — Water pipes usually freeze up 
when exposed, for inside the walls, where they cannot be reached, they are or 
should be packed to prevent freezing. To thaw out a frozen pipe, bundle a 
newspaper into a torch, light it, and pass it along the pipe slowly. The ice will 
yield to this much quicker than to hot water or wrappings of hot cloths, as is 
the common practice. 

Bean Pole§. — Cut bean poles in winter, sharpen one end and bind them 
in bundles for garden use when wanted. A substitute may be made by setting 
a post at each end of the row, six feet high, and running a small line or wire 
directly over the row with perpendicular ones from each hill to the wire above. 

How to Test a Therinometer. — The common thermometer in a 
japanned iron case is usually inaccurate. To test the thermometer, bring water 
into the condition of active boiling ; warm the thermometer gradually in the 
steam and then plunge it into the water. If it indicate a fixed temperature of 
two hundred and twelve degrees, the instrument is a good one. 

Eeonomieal Fire Kindler. — One may be made by dipping corn 
cobs in a mixture of melted resin and tar, and drying. 

Tube for Poisoning Orchard Mice. — Bore a two inch hole into 
blocks of wood, and at the lower end of the hole put the poison made by mix- 
ing one part arsenic with five of corn meal. Lay these blocks about the orchard, 
and no animal but the mouse can reach the fatal bait, and it will work destruc- 
tion among the pest. 

To Layer Roses. — Use shoots of the young growth — that is growth of 
three or four weeks old, or such as are not so much ripened as to drop the 
leaves, or in other words, the cut should always be made at that part of the 
shoot where there are as green and healthy leaves below as above the cut. 
This condition of the shoot is very important, in order to produce a well rooted 
layer. 

A slit cut like a tongue one inch long should be made in the branch which is 
put down. Some cut on the lower part of the branch, others on the top. 
Make a trench in the ground and bend the branch down into it, securely fasten- 
ing it down with pegs on each side, then cover well with earth, leaving three or 
four inches of the end of the branch out of the ground. If the season is dry,, 
watering will be necessary. 

To Layer Slirubs Oenerally. — Any desirable shrubs can be layered 
the same way as roges, except that it is not so important to put down new fresh 
growth. If a branch is used which has a number of smaller ones growing off 
from it, and covered so as to leave the ends of each out, roots will be formed on 
each of the httle branches. The tea olive roots beautifully in this way, but is 
difficult to grow from cuttings in the open ground. The oleander and rhodo- 
dendron will also root finely by this last plan. 

Layering carnations is often the only method of increasing some of the choice 



^54 GENERAL MISCELLANY. 

A^arieties. They must be put down in the same way as roses, the tongue being 
cut just below a joint. 

Petroleum for Turning Tools.— It is said that if the point of the 
turning tool while in use be kept constantly moistened with petroleum, the 
work will proceed as readily as with hot metal. Steel, tempered to a light yel- 
low, has been turned with the greatest facility by using a mixture of two 
parts of petroleum and one of oil of turpentine. 

Test for Stone Lime. — The heavier the lime the more certain is it to be 
good ; but that rule is not in all cases to be relied upon. There are better in- 
dications : Good lime is greasy or salvey to the touch, while poor lime is gritty 
and dry. When good lime slakes in water it falls quickly, causes the water to 
boil up furiously, and gives out a great quantity of heat. The slaking of poor 
lime is attended with but a slight boiling of the water, and a small increase of 
the heat ; moreover, the quantity of water required to slake good lime will be 
nearly one half its bulk. 

Good lime, when slaked, will swell to twice its original bulk, and if exposed 
to water continually changed, the lime will all be taken up without leaving any 
residue. Poor lime when slaked, will swell to two and a half times its original 
bulk, and there will always remain a gritty residue, no matter how much water 
may be run over it. 

To Draw a Curve.— Cut a strip of soft pewter, about one sixteenth of 
an inch thick, and a quarter of an inch wide, the length of the longest curve 




PEWTER STRIP FOR TAKING CURVES. 

required. Dress it straight, and smooth the edges with a file. By drawing 
the strip through the closed fingers of the left hand, or over the thumb, a very 
regular curve may be obtained, which can be altered at will till it matches the 
line to be drawn or' copied. For fine or quick curves a lighter strip should be 
used. 

To Make a Scrap Book. — Scrap books, as they are generally made, 
are rough, ungainly affairs, caused by the curling of the leaves of the book to 
which the scraps are attached. Mucilage, as generally purchased, will pene- 
trate printing paper and give it a semi-transparent appearance ; so it should 
not be used. Use good flour paste, and only apply this to the edges and 



GENERAL MISCELLANY. 255 

corners of the scrap to be attached. By this method you will find no wrinkling, 
but have a flat, smooth scrap book. 

^uick Way to Cast Interest. — Multiply the number of dollars by the 
number of days ; strike off the right hand figure and divide by thirty-six. This 
will give one per cent., which must be multiplied by any desired rate of interest 
to be obtained. The rule is correct. A handy way to compute six per cent, is 
to reckon half a cent on each dollar for each month. For instance, fifty dol- 
lars for one month, twenty-five cents ; seventy dollars one month, thirty-five 
cents. The cents equal the dollars in two months, and so on. 

Shelter for Coal. — Experiments have proven that bituminous coal ex- 
posed to the weather suffers loss in weight as well as in gas making quality. 
From this it will be understood that coal should be kept dry and under cover ; 
and that to expose it to rain or damp is to lessen its quantity and weaken its 
quality. Here, too, we have an explanation of the inferiority of the great heaps 
of small coal which encumber the ground in the mining districts. 

Tlia\ring- Out Plants. — In case of frozen house plants the following 
treatment is said to restore them uninjured: Allow the plants to remain where 
they were frozen ; darken the room as completely as practicable, and sprinkle 
them with water direct from the cistern. A few drops of spirits of camphor 
put into the water will render it all the better. Do not allow the room to be- 
come warmer than forty-seven degrees for twenty-four hours. Although the 
water may freeze in drops on the leaves when sprinkled, the plants will come 
out unharmed if this treatment be strictly adhered to. 

Deptli for Strengtli in Timber. — J. Scott Russell says : " The value 
of increasing the dimension in the direction of the greatest strain is mechani- 
cally expressed in the simple formula — that strength against a given strain is in- 
creased in proportion to the square of the depth ; whereas, if it be given in the 
contrary direction, it is only strong in proportion to the simple breadth. 

" As it is usual to call depth of a piece its direction of greatest strain, and 
width the direction at right angles to this, the formula is summed up in saying 
that the strength of a piece of timber is proportioned to its breadth simply, and 
to the square of its depth. 

" Taking, then, a piece of timber twice as broad as another, it will be twice 
as strong ; taking a piece of timber twice as deep as another, it will be four 
times as strong ; so that the gain of increased depth over increased breadth is 
manifest. It must never be forgotten that to gain increased depth one way 
at the cost of diminished breadth the other way, is to weaken that piece 
against any strain to which it may happen to be exposed in the direction of its 
thinness." 

To Manage a Wet Silk Hat. — When a silk hat gets wet do not at- 
tempt to wipe it dry, neither allow it to dry as it comes from the storm ; either 
treatment will ruin it. When partly dry, wrap a dry towel around it to absorb 



256 GENERAL MISCELLANY. 

dampness, moving the towel a little with the lay of the silk. When nearly dry, 
rub with hot cloth until smooth, bright and glossy. 

Drawing's for Proposed Work. — By making a drawing of your 
work you get an exact representation of the effect of it when completed. 
The drawing should be made to some scale, say one inch or one and a half 
inch, to represent a foot of the actual work. If drawing paper and proper 
instruments are not within reach, use one of the planks or pieces of wood lying ? 
about your workshop, and mark out your scaled drawing with a carpenter's 
pencil or a piece of chalk. 

From the scaled drawing you can mark out your wood to the proper size, 
and with its aid you can greatly economize material. Your work should be 
planned so as to allow the smallest possible waste. 

To Pack a Trunk. — In packing a trunk, put the large and heavy 
articles, and such as will not be damaged by pressure, at the bottom. If the 
trunk is not full, take newspapers, spread them out to full width, then from the 
edges crush them together, forming elastic bunches. Put these in vacant space^ 
and they will hold the articles below in place, and secure against damage. 

A Water Telescope. — Take four pieces of half inch board, any length 
you desire. The length should be governed by the depth of the pond or lake it 
is to be used upon. Have two of the pieces five inches wide, and two, three 
inches wide. These, when nailed together, will form a tube four by five inches 
square. Before nailing together, one inch from one end of each piece, saw the 
boards half off. This will form a gain or kerf, into which is to be fitted a piece 
of window glass. Put together after coating all the joints with white lead 
paint. Put paint also in the glass grooves. You will have a very good sub- 
marine telescope. The tube glass-end is to be shoved down into the water, 
by use of sinkers. It is improved by covering the head with a shawl. 

To Imitate Oround Olass. — A ready way of imitating ground glass 
is to dissolve Epsom salts in beer, and apply with a brush. As it dries it 
crystallizes. 

Position for Reasoning Timber, — Timber will be seasoned better 
and quicker by being placed vertically, rather than horizontally. This will be 
evident when it is considered that the sap-channels run lengthwise of the 
timber, and that moisture evaporates upward. 

To Paint Over Pine Knots. — If your work is to be painted, the parts 
marked by the oozing out of turpentine and all the knots must be covered with 
a composition called priming. Priming may be made of turpentine, linseed 
oil and red lead. 



For the Boys. 



An average boy takes to the use of mechanical tools about as naturally as a 
duck takes to water. The knife, then a hammer, hatchet and saw, are sought 
out and used as soon as he is big enough to handle them, and the more he is 
aided and indulged, the better pleased and the more useful he becomes. 
Mechanical tools are educators, for in them, or in the use of them, mathematical 
and philosophical problems are constantly arising and being overcome. Each 
mastery is a development of the reasoning faculties that will show itself most 
favorably in mature years. 

As the child has first to creep and then walk, so the boy should begin his 
work with tools upon the most simple things that can be made for his enjoy- 
ment. If difficult work is begun first, discouragement may follow that will 
seriously blunt the natural gifts of the lad. 

Men in all departments of our industries are sometimes placed where incon- 
venience, money and perhaps life might be saved, if the individual had even a 
moderate experience in mechanical affairs. Life may be endangered by a boat 
springing aleak, or by the breaking of harness or vehicle, with one man, while 
with another the danger would be obviated by the latter detecting and securing 
the weak points before disaster comes. 

It will be noticed also, that one man will do double the work of another, to 
accompHsh a certain end. The reason is, that the first has never had his 
natural mechanical tact developed. You can always feel assured when you 
hear a man say that he has no mechanical genius about him, that he can't make 
a chicken coop, that that man when a boy had neither facilities, time, or encour- 
agement for practicing with tools. I never yet have met a boy who did not 
develop some skill as a workman who had access to good tools. If he never 
becomes a mechanic, even if he has no desire to be a mechanic, he has the 
leading principles of mechanical arts so impressed upon him, that their appli- 
cation will be found of value thousands of times during a natural Hfe. Uncon- 
sciously these principles will come up, be applied, and the benefits derived when 
one makes no profession whatever to efficiency in the use of tools. 

My effort in this department is to give to the boys simple rules and dimen- 
sions for making articles that the youth most commonly seeks to construct. 

They are articles that I made in my boyhood, and such as any lad in the land 
may construct, and with the use of but very few tools. 

One of the requisites to success is patience. Do not go to work in a hurry, 
and do not be discouraged if the desired result is not at once obtained. Go 



258 HOW TO MAKE HAND SLEDS. 

slow, work with precision, and make everything you do look neat, or just as 
neat as you possibly can. Even in the sharpening of a pencil, learn to give a 
true sloping cut. Do not try to work with dull tools. Grindstones and whet- 
stones are abundant, and in learning to sharpen tools, you are mastering one 
of the important branches of the mechanical field. 



HOW TO MAKE HAND SLEDS. 



Coagtmgr Sled. — A coasting or board runner sled may be manufactured 
by any boy of ordinary mechanical genius. Take two boards three-quarters of 
an inch thick, twenty-eight inches long and four inches wide. Shape the ends 
as illustrated, then bore three holes in each runner with a three-quarter auger, 
and three-quarters of an inch below the upper edge. Bore first hole three 
inches from the rear top edge of runner, the other fifteen inches front of that. 



BOARD RUNNER OR COASTING SLED. 

and the third hole half way between the two. Next, just in front of the center 
beam hole, cut a place for the hand to grasp the sled when coasting. These hand 
holes should be about an inch below the upper edge, four inches long, an inch 
and a quarter w^ide in the center, and rounded on the edge so as not to hurt the 
hand when hard pressed. Bore with quarter inch bit a hole through each run- 
ner, near the front or point for the drawing rope to be attached. The runners 
are now ready for the beams. These should be of hard wood about one inch 
square. They should be cut twelve inches long and shouldered to fit the auger 
holes so that they are ten inches between the shoulders. When fitted, drive all 
three into one side first, then put on the other runner. Fasten by putting a 
screw down through from top edge of the runner. 

When shouldering the beams leave the upper side with level surface, so that 
there may be three-quarters of an inch between the top of the beam and top 
edge of the runner for the seat board to go into. This board should be seven- 
teen inches long, three-quarters of an inch thick, and just wide enough to set 
closely in between the runners. Shape ends as shown in the engraving and 
then screw down firmly to the beams. The sled will be found very substantial. 



HOW TO MAKE HAND SLEDS. 



259. 



The proportions given for making a board runner sled may be varied tp suit 
the manufacturer, but the size I have given is a popular one for boys. Where 
the coaster is made shorter, say twenty-two inches, but two beams will be re- 
quired ; thirty to thirty-six inch sleds are used by large boys. 

To IShoe a Sled. — The durability may be a good deal increased by put- 
ting on iron shoes. To do this, get two pieces of three-quarter band iron, thirtjr 
incites long and one-eighth of an inch thick. Within half an inch of one end 
and two inches from the other, punch holes, then two more nine inches apart,, 
which will divide all into equal distances. 

To punch the holes, heat the spot in the stove until the iron is red hot, then- 
use a piece of saw file ground round, rim out and countersink for screw head, 
with home made tools, if you have no others, as shown on page 16. 

After thus preparing, bend the iron to conform to the curve of the runner, 
allowing the back end of the shoe, that with the hole two inches from the end, 
to turn up, so as not to catch when the sled is pushed backward. Fasten on 
with screws, three-quarters or an inch long, but see that the heads thereof set 
doAvn even with the surface of the shoe or a little below. A stick handle should 
not be used for coasting ; indeed they are but little used on any kind of hand 
sled now. 

A Plain Framed Sled. — It is not as difficult a task to make a framed 
sled as most boys suppose. I will give dimensions and directions, making the 
operation as simple and plain as possible. Dress out two sticks twenty-eight 
inches long, one inch wide and three-quarters of an inch thick. They should be 




A PLAIN FRAMED SLED. 



of tough oak, hickory or ash. Make a form of right shape to please the eye, 
then proceed to steam and bend as directed on pages 30 and 31. 

After the runners are bent, begin laying them out by boring three half inch 
holes through them from top to bottom ; the first four inches from back end, 
the second, nine inches front of that, and the third nine inches from that. Next 
take six sticks three-quarters of an inch square, about eight inches long. Make 
round half inch tenons on each end, so that the shoulders are five and a half 



26o HOW TO MAKE HAND SLEDS. 

inches apart. Drive one end of each into the holes in the runners, and you are 
ready for the beams. 

The beams should be three-quarters of an inch thick, an inch and one-fourth 
wide, and fourteen inches long. One inch from each end bore a half inch hole, 
and the beams are ready to drive on. Before putting the sled together, bore 
tv^o half inch holes a few inches from upper ends of runners and fit in a stick 
to draw by. When all is ready, drive on ihe beams and the draw stick, and 
then wedge the knees or posts of the sled. Put in the wedges so that they cross 
the length of runner and beam, which will prevent splitting. 

Trim off the projections, top and bottom, and put on raves and shoes. The 
latter should be applied as directed for shoeing the coasting sled. Make the 
raves two inches in width and half an inch thick. They should be long enough 
to project two and a half inches back of rear beam, tapered and bent in front to 
reach the runner, as shown in the illustration. 

The raves may be fastened by screws driven through into the beams, and one 
in front ends driven into the runner. If the shoe irons are long enough, it is 
well to have them come to the top of the runner, then bend over and take a 
screw in the rave. This will add very materially to the strength of the sled. 

The seat board should be same thickness as the raves, shaped as illustrated, 
and screwed to the beams. 

This sled may have iron braces if one chooses, but if well put together it will 
stand considerable strain without. Through the cross piece between the run- 
ners bore two holes an inch or so from the runners, in which to put the draw 
rope. The draw stick should be made three-quarters of an inch square, then 
chamfered to eight square. It should be of good, tough hickory, oak or ash. 
It is best to make the whole sled of tough timber ; and be careful to have all the 
joints well fitted, for the firmness of the sled depends upon this. 

Iron Braces for a Sled. — The iron braces for a hand sled need not be 
large ; quarter inch rod is plenty heavy enough. Cut the rod into pieces five or 
six inches long. Heat to a whitish red at the ends, and flatten with a hammer 
on the head of an ax, then punch a hole through the flat part of each end. 
Prepare all the braces to be used in this way, then turn the sled bottom up and 
heat the irons again, but only to a dark red, and fit them in position by bending 
the end out of line. 

Where rods cannot be obtained, large wire, such as is found in the tops of 
tin milk pans, may be used. Do not attempt to punch these, but cut to a length 
of six inches and then curl the ends to round circles by use of a pair of pincers 
and light hammer, then fit to place and put screws in through the curled ends. 
If the loops formed at the ends are not true with each other, they may be 
twisted by heating into any desired position. 

Fancy Framed Sled. — Dress out two sticks of tough timber three- 
fourths by inch square and five feet long. Begin about two feet from one end 



HOW TO MAKE HAND SLEDS. 



261 



of each runner stick, and gradually taper to five-eighths of an inch square at 
ends. These tapered ends are for the front. Steam and bend after directions 
given on pages 30 and 31, making the circle as shown in the engraving. 

For knees dress out six sticks of good timber about eight inches long, 
three-quarters of an inch thick, and tapered the other way so as to be three- 
quarters at one side, and an inch and a quarter at the other side. Thus the 
sticks are three-quarters of an inch square at one end, and inch and a 
quarter by three-quarters at the other end. The smaller end is to be framed 
into the runner, and the broad part into the beam, so as to give a bracing^ 
support there. 

To frame the sled lay the knee sticks on as shown in the cut, and scribe 
with the point of a knife both upon runner and stick as guide lines for 
mortising and tenoning. Set the first stick six inches from rear end of runner 
inclined forward four inches, as shown in dotted lines of drawing. Set the 





POSITION OF KNEES IN FRAMING SLED. 



second twenty-three inches in front of that inclined backward one inch, then, 
set the middle knee so that it divides the space between front and back, 
both at top and bottom, which will be an incline forward of about two 
inches. While scribing the knees for framing they may be held in place by 
little clamps made as described on page 20. Then proceed to mortise and 
tenon as directed on page 34. 

The beams should be of good material, three-quarters of an inch by one 
inch, fourteen inches long. To frame these, set up the runners with knees in, 
so that the runners are thirteen inches and a half apart outside to outside, 
then incHne the knees in until they are eleven and a half inches apart at top 
outside to outside. Fasten the beams on with clamps so that the knees 
will be six inches long between shoulders, and scribe for mortise and tenon 
as directed for the runners. This will leave the beams projectmg an mch 
and a quarter, which is to be left with a tapering finish. 

When measuring for the height of beam above runner, measure up the 
dotted lines, or, in other words, straight up from the runner, so each beam will 
be six inches high and all level. Do not attempt to frame on the beam so 
its sides will be perpendicular, for you will spoil the job. Frame on straight 
with the knees, and then dress off tops to get a level for platform. 



S262 HOUSES AND COOPS FOR BIRDS. 

Before putting the sled together, frame in a draw stick at the front of the 
runners in the circle, so that it will be a little above the level of the tops of 
the beams. This may be scribed and mortised in or fitted to a round hole. 




A FANCY FRAMED SLED. 

It should be about ten and a half inches from shoulder to shoulder ; this, 
however, is adjusted to the runners after they are framed into position. Two 
holes should be bored in the draw stick one inch from each shoulder, for 
the rope. 

No raves are used upon this sled. A bed board eleven and a half inches 
wide, twenty-five inches long, and half an inch thick is used, and shaped as 
shown in the illustration. Fasten it securely by screwing it down to the 
beams, then through half mch holes force the ends of the runners after they 
are fitted, and secure them by screws on under side. The small ends of 
the runners should be about nine inches apart, inside to inside. 

Painting Hand Sleds. — As soon as the sled is completed give it a 
priming coat of paint, and when that is dry, follow with coatings more substan- 
tial. If the joints are well fitted up and pinned with draw boring, but little 
putty will be needed. [See how to draw bore, page 35,] Red is a pretty color 
for a hand sled, either red lead or vermilion. The latter is richer in color, but 
not so durable. A Paris green is also very pretty. Do not use a dark color ; 
it had better be white than black, or pink than brown. 



HOUSES AND COOPS FOR BIRDS. 



The Pigeon House. — A very good size for a pigeon house is three feet 
long, two feet wide, and twenty inches high to the spring of the roof, and nine 
inches pitch ; that is, twenty-nine inches in all from the base to the highest 
point. 

How to Make the Cage. — Get for each end three boards eight inches 
wide and one inch thick, nail them to two cross-pieces one inch thick by two 
inches wide, or two boards, twelve inches wide, may be used. 



HOUSES AND COOPS FOR BIRDS. 



263 



The floor should be made of three-fourth inch stuff, placed the short way ; 
that is, from the front to the back of the coop. The sides or front bars should 
be made of three pieces an inch square, and the piece at the top or angle one 
inch by an inch and a half, either nailed in between the heads or ends, or what 
is better, notched or lapped, or dovetailed into the heads. 

The back of the coop can be like the front, or it can be made close with 
boards. Small sticks may be used for upright bars, or galvanized wires may be 
employed. The spaces between them should be about an inch and a quarter 
each. 

To Make the ]Ve§t Boxe§. — Two nest boxes, one on each end, should 
be made eighteen inches long and nine inches wide, and about sixteen inches 




HOME MADE PIGEON HOUSE 



high, with a shanty roof or top, to be made of half inch stuff, and nailed as 
shown in the engraving. Two holes should be made in each end of the cage to 
give entrance to the nest boxes. To make these holes, first mark out in each 
end two half circles with compass, for the tops of the openings, then bore a hole 
in each with a bit, then use a keyhole saw to cut out the pigeon door. If you 
have no key saw, bore a series of bit holes connecting, around the half circle, 
then saw up from bottom with common saw, and smooth out with a jack knife. 

The Martin Box. — The best material for a martin box is pine lumber, 
three-quarters of an inch thick. One board, nine or ten inches wide and 
twelve feet long, is sufficient for the whole. No definite dimensions will be 
given, as boxes may be made of any size one chooses, but there are certain 
proportions that should govern the construction. The length should be about 
one-third more than the width. If the box is to be nine inches wide, make it 
twelve or thirteen inches long. 

The height should be in proportion to whatever length is used — indeed, 
should be about three fourths the length. 



264 



HOUSES AND COOPS FOR BIRDS. 



Ho^v to Make the Box. — First dress out the bottom board, say nine 
by twelve ; cut two side boards same length, and about eight inches wide, and 
nail them on. Cut two end boards as wide as bottom and sides, thirteen inches 
jong, and from upper edge of sices, bevel to a point in center for roof ; then cut 
bird hole in one end piece and nail on both pieces. Now, with the plane, bevel 
off edges of side board to correspond with roof, and put on the roof boards 
wide enough to project below to form eaves, and an inch at the ends to give 
appearance of a cornice. An inch and a half projection will not look bad. 
Read hints on construction of dog kennel. 

If the bird box is to represent a house with side entrance, the end boards 
should be made same width as the bottom, and the sides made long enough to 
cover ends. 

Nail two sticks, one by two inches — flat sides to the two end boards on inside 
to represent chimneys. Cut notches in roof boards to go around them, and 
leave good projections of roof at ends. Two doors should be cut in the side 
and none in the end, but a window can be painted there. Some make a bottom 

board wide and nail it on with pro- 
jections, but there is no use of this, as 
the birds do not need it for a lighting 
place, besides it is unlike a human 
residence, which it is calculated to rep- 
resent, and it gives lodgment to snow 
and rain, which works decay. 

Inmide Construetion. — On the 
inside, before nailing on last side or 
end, fix a little box, no matter how 
rough or rude, for the bird to build her 
nest in, but do not attempt to supply 
the bird with material to build with. 
She will prefer to select her own, and 
you only make her the trouble of car- 
rying out the litter. 

Color of Martin Box. — Stone 
gray, white and brown, are good colors 
for painting bird boxes. Something de- 
pends upon the position they are to 
occupy. s 

Rustle Bird House. — A rustic bird house may be easily constructed. 
It may be formed by tacking split sticks upon a board house, or made entirely 
of round limbs and roots. 

The Gothic style represented in the engraving is very pretty. It should be 
erected upon a pole containing the bark and stubs of limbs. Set the pole, 

1 




RUSTIC BIRD HOUSE FOR SHRUBBERY. 



HOUSES AND COOPS FOR BIRDS. 



265 



if possible, amid a clump of bushes. It looks much better than when stand- 
ing in open space. 

Coop for Fancy JBirds. — Boys not unfrequently have some pet chick- 
ens or fancy birds, for which they wish to prepare rather handsome quarters. 




COOP FOR FANCY BIRDS. 



This may be done and at no great outlay. Prepare an end piece, say two 
feet wide at the bottom and two feet high, terminating at a point in the cen- 
ter. For the front use two pieces of board, one by two inches, mitered to- 
gether at top and stayed at bottom by cross stick. These three pieces should 
form a triangle of exactly the same size and shape as the outer surface of 
the rear board. Place the two ends three feet apart, and put on the sides^ 
which should be of clap-boards three and a half feet long. After both sides 
have been covered, strike a line down the ends of the siding and saw off 
square, leaving as much projection over the end pieces as possible, at least two 
inches at each end. When nailing on the boards, hold an ax under the frame 
sticks to prevent their jarring out of place. 




RUSTIC COOP FOR FANCY BIRDS. 



To finish the front dress out some half inch sticks two feet or less long, one 
and a quarter inches wide, and put these on up and down with space of an inch 
and a half between them. Leave an open space ten inches wide in the center. 



266 THE RABBIT CAGE. # 

and to this fit a slat door made of same material, to work between two cleats, 
as shown in the illustration. The center sticks should be three inches longer 
than the heights of the coop and a cross piece screwed to it, to work the trap 
door by. It will be found very handy, and if tastefully constructed somewhat 
ornamental. 

Tlie Itusti© Coop, — Where the fancy is to be indulged, a boy can sur- 
prise himself at the results of an effort at rustic work. In the first place he 
does not have to meet the very difficult operation of squaring of timber 
and making hair joints. The framework of the rustic coop may be after the 
manner of "Coop for Fancy Birds," both ends made of triangular pieces and 
ribs put on instead of boards, and then the rustic strips put up and down, 
fitted as closely as possible. The front can be made to suit the fancy. 
Cross slatting, as shown in the illustration, has a nice effect. 

If a saw mill can be reached, thin slabs with the bark on make excellent 
material for covering a rustic coop. By dressing off the edges with a draw shave 
and planing them a little, very good joints may be secured. 



THE RABBIT CAGE. 



Size of Cage. — Almost every boy of a dozen years of age has tried to 
make a cage for a rabbit, and a few suggestions will, perhaps, be of aid. 
The following dimensions, which are very good, are from Carpentry and 
Joinery, A good size is three feet long eighteen inches wide and fifteen 
inches high. There should be a partition, so as to provide a bedplace one 
foot from the right hand end, with a hole cut for the animal to enter from 
the outer house. 

Construction of Mabbit Cage. — The bottom should be made of 
three-fourth inch board, the two sides three-quarters of an inch, the back half 
an inch, and the partition half an inch. Saw these into their proper lengths 
with a hand-saw. A rabbit-cage is not necessarily a finished piece of joinery ; 
it is not therefore usual to plane up the boards before fitting them. 

The frame should be nailed together with one-half inch cut nails. The 
large door should be made of one inch stuff, one and a half inches wide, halved 
or lapped at the corners. The top and bottom bars should be set out with 
the compasses one and a half inches apart for the upright bars, which 
should be of stout galvanized iron wire. When set out, holes should be 
bored with a gimlet to receive the iron about half an inch deep. 

After nailing the frame of the door together it should be hung on hinges or 
"cast butts," as shown in the drawing. Next comes the upright divisional bar, 



BOAT MAKING. 



267 



which should be two inches wide, and let into the top and bottom of the cage 
frame. The small door is a plain board three-quarters of an inch thick, hung 
on hinges similar to the large door, and opening in the opposite direction. 




HOME MADE CAGE FOR RABBITS. 



BOAT MAKING. 

The Raft. — Flowing streams, placid lakes and ponds possess a special 
charm for boys. They love not only to get into the limpid water, but by some 
device to float upon it. An ax and auger are all the tools necessary to make a 
raft, and in an emergency the ax alone will answer. Two logs, ten feet long, 
more or less, pointed at front ends, and held four feet apart by pieces of scant- 
ling or saplings pinned upon them, make the foundation. In the absence of an 
auger, the cross pieces may be lashed on with strips of basswood bark. 

On top of the cross pieces a floor may be made of old boards, or of poles 
laid close together. This cheap and quickly constructed raft is capable of 
floating thousands of miles, and bearing considerable burden. By setting up 
some crotched sticks in the logs for oar-locks, the raft may be rowed quite rap- 
idly, or forced along by the shoulder pole, after the manner of the Mississippi 
raftsmen. 

The Flat Boat. — The flat boat or scow, is one of the cheapest devices, 
made from lumber, that floats. Any boy of common genius can make one, and 
with but very few tools. All the lumber necessary is two one and one-fourth 
inch planks, ten feet long and about as many inches wide ; two pieces of same 
thickness, four inches wide, three feet long, and a few inch pine boards. 

The two long planks are for the sides, and the four inch strips for ends. 
Upon one edge of the two long planks, measure from ends twenty-six inches, 



268 BOAT MAKING. 

and draw a line from that point to the end and to within four inches of the oppo- 
site edge, then saw off the pieces. This will give shape to the bottom of the 
boat. After both ends of the two side planks have been cut, put in the end 
pieces and nail them firmly. Then dress off top and bottom with a jack plane. 

Cut the pine boards into pieces an inch longer than is necessary to reach 
across the boat, and begin at one end to nail them on, fitting up close joints as 
you go. A very good way is to have some strips of cotton cloth dipped in hot 
pitch, and put these between the edges of the boards, crowding up as firmly as 
possible. 

After the bottom has been covered, dress off the ends smooth, then saw off 
the projections at the sides, and smooth down with a plane. A boat of this 
kind, though roughly made, will not leak after once becoming water soaked. 
In case there is leakage from bad joints, crowd in a little tow or hemp, procured 
by scraping the end of a rope, and coat the material thoroughly with hot pitch 
or coal tar. 

Through the center of the scow lengthwise, put a three-quarter stay board, 
one foot wide. This had better be screwed down, as nails will be likely to 
punch out pieces at the bottom. Seats twelve or fourteen inches wide can be 
nailed across each end, and one for the oarsman, front of the center, and below 
the top a few inches, resting upon cleats. If staples are used upon the oars, 
holes in the tops of the sides may be bored of proper size to take the irons 
loosely. If oar-locks are to be used, upright pieces of boards, with hollowed 
ends, may be screwed to the inside of the planks, at the proper points. The 
boat is all the better for being painted, if one has the material to do it with. To 
prevent decay, it is well, at least, to coat the edges of the side planks with white 
lead paint before nailing the bottom on, and also to sink the nail heads, and 
paint and putty the holes. 

The Iiow-l>oat. — A nice, light row-boat is not very easily constructed, 
and yet there are not a few young, mechanical boys, who can make one by fol- 
lowing the simple directions here given. Take for sides, two clear pine boards 
three-quarters of an inch thick, twelve feet long and about a foot wide. A little 
wider will do no harm. Cut these boards so they will measure twelve feet on 
one edge in length, and eleven feet and four inches on the other edges, the 
bevel at the ends being exactly alike. Now cut a board forty-two inches long, 
on one edge, and thirty-four inches on the other, one foot wide bevels alike at 
each end. Cut the third board, which should be an inch and a quarter thick, 
and one foot wide, so that it will measure eighteen inches on one edge, and a 
foot on the bottom. 

Now you are ready to begin to put the boat together. The plank is for the 
stern end of the boat, the forty-two inch board simply for temporary purposes, 
to make the swell of the body. Put the stern plank in and hold it in place by 
screws put through the side pieces ; then put in the center board and bring the 



THE AQUARIUM. 269 

front ends together, and have some one hold them while the corners are beveled 
with a chisel, so as to make a good joint. Between the ends it is best to put a 
piece of plank with one-half of sides cut away, so as to form a projection in 
front and shoulders for the extreme ends of the boards to set against. This, 
however, is not absolutely necessars'. The boards may come together and be 
firmly screwed in place from both sides, and then a corner piece fitted on in- 
side, and another row of screws driven through the sides into this. 

Now finish fastening the stern end board and then turn the boat over. It 
will be found quite rounding from end to end on the bottom. Use a plane to 
flatten the center into proper shape for resting upon the water, and dress the 
edges all around so that the bottom boards will fit snugly. Put on the bottom 
as directed for flat boat. Do not nail the bottom to center board, for that is to 
come out. After the bottom is finished, turn the boat right side up for com- 
pletion. 

On the sides at the stern, screw two cleats three inches from top, and fit in a 
seat. Do the same at the front, and put another in the center for the oarsman. 
Before putting in these sea«s, however, put in the long stay board as directed in 
construction of flat boat, The oar-locks can be put in as before directed. If 
the boat is to be painted, use white lead and linseed oil. It is most durable, 
and has the best appearance. 



THE AQUARIUM. 



How to jflake an Aquarium. — Under ordinary circumstances it is 
cheaper to purchase an aquarium than to make one, but there is something of 
a satisfaction in having an article of that order of home manufacture, even if it 
is rude in construction. One can be made in proportions so as to be adapted 
to any desirable location. A very symmetrical size is about twelve by twenty 
inches, with depth the same as the width — one foot. Where it is not conven- 
ient to get glass for the size mentioned, it may be made to the common wmdow- 
light sizes. 

If one is not an experienced carpenter, the better way will be to have the bot- 
tom board to begin with two or three inches longer and wider than will be nec- 
essary when completed. Take four sticks about an inch square and a foot or 
more long, and on each of two sides cut grooves either with a hand saw or nar- 
row chisel about a quarter of an inch deep, and wide enough to adm.it the glass 
easily. When the posts are prepared set them up, fit in the glasses by the aid 
of some person, and then place the frame on to the bottom board, and when in 
exactly the right position, mark around the base of the posts with a pencil, and 
then remove the frame, and you have the points for boring the post holes. Of 



270 



THE HOME GYMNASIUM. 



course, these holes should be smaller than the posts, and the latter cut down 
with a square shoulder, and the tenons fitted snugly. Cover the tenons with 
white lead paint before they are driven in and wedge them at the under side, 
cross ways of the grain of the bottom board, so as not to split the latter. 

The glass may be set in white lead paint. Cap or margin pieces may be 




THE AQUARIUM FILLED. 

halved together, and held down upon the edges of the glass firmly by a screw 
at each corner driven down through cap pieces into the top of post, which 
should be cut off square and even with top edge of glass. 

Fittings Up the A<|uariuiii. — Now the aquarium is complete save 
cementing. For material to do this with, see " Aquarium Cement." Coat the 
bottom with waterproof cement, put in an inch of clean gravel or pretty stones, 
and build up a little rockery, with arch for fish to dart through. Aquatic plants 
and lycopodium moss are pleasing additions. 



THE HOME GYMNASIUM. 



Importance of Oy mnastics. — As health, strength and longevity are 
very much dependent upon physical culture, it is important that every boy have 
means of developing his muscles. Those who are working hard at the bench 
or upon the farm have sufficient opportunity for the outlay of strength, and the 
important rules for such to adhere to are keeping the form erect, the head up, 
the shoulders well back, and the chest thrown out. 

Care in standing or sitting will very soon form a correct habit, and that 



THE HOME GYMNASIUM. 



271 



which is considerea something- of a tax at first will soon become an easy ana agree- 
able position. There is no excuse for a person being round shouldered, narrow, 
hollow chested and cramped up as if a heavy weight were resting on the head. 

The Horizontal Bar.— For expanding the chest the horizontal bar is 
one of the most efficient means. 

It may be constructed in the house, barn or woodshed, by simply attach- 
ing a rope to some point over head, and to the lower end fastening a round 
stick like a hoe handle. The rope should be fastened so that it will not slip at 
the balancing center, and the stick suspended not more than eight inches above 
the head. If preferred, there may be two ropes used, one at each end of the 
bar, same as the elevated trapeze. Hazardous exercises upon the trapeze are 
very different from those calculated for health and development, and should not 
be indulged in unless one is training for public exhibition. 



iiljlil 



HOME MADE DUMB BEI.LS. 



Dumb Bells. — No articles in the outfit of the gymnasium are better calcu- 
lated to develop the whole muscular system than dumb bells. If the iron ones 
cannot be handily purchased, bells maybe made at home that will answer very 
well. Take four blocks of wood about five inches square, round edges and 
corners and then connect them by round hand pieces, so that they will be about 
six inches apart. A set of dumb bells for a boy should not weigh all together 
more than five to six pounds, that is two or three pounds each, and one and a 
half pounds will be found heavy enough to begin with. They may be weighted 
by boring a large hole in the head end, and pouring in lead. Exercises with 
these develop the muscles of the arms, chest, back, hips and legs. The mo- 
tions should be steady up and down, front, back, etc., standing m an easy posi- 
tion. A book giving full instructions can be purchased for ten cents, through 
any book or news dealer. 




HOME MADE PARALLEL BARS. 



Parallel Bar§. — These are made by four upright posts and two parallel 
cross bars. The bars should be about six feet long, some twenty inches 
apart, and about the height of the hips. Standing between the bars, the hands 



272 



THE HOME GYMNASIUM. 



are placed upon them, and the body lifted and held suspended while it is swing- 
ing back and forth. The exercise gives strength to the wrists and arms. 

The 8trikifiig Hag. — Take a stout sack about half the size of a common 
grain bag, and fill it with curled hair, wool, rowen, cotton or even bran, and 
suspend it by a rope with its center breast high, and you have a good strik- 
ing bag for development of the muscles of the chest and shoulders. Stand at 
arms' length and punch the bag with straight shoulder thrusts. Before filling 
the bag, put a rope down through it and out of the center of the bottom ; have 
a bit of board there with a hole in it for the rope to pass and be knot- 
ted. After filling, tie top of bag around the rope. 

To Make §tilts. — Walking upon stilts gives special action to 
the muscles of the body. The effort to balance is a beneficial exer- 
cise. In making stilts, do not have them high at first, that is, do not 
have the foot rest far above the ground end of the rod. One foot is 
sufficient to start with. 

To make the stilts, saw out two hard wood sticks six feet long and 
an inch and a quarter wide, and lightly chamfer the edges. Dress 
out a foot piece as shown in the engraving, and fasten to the pole 
one foot from the end by two large screws. Pass one screw through 
the small end of the foot rest, the other through the pole into the 
top of the foot rest. When walking, have the poles back of the arms 
pressed firmly against the shoulders, and the hands grasping the 
poles at a convenient distance down. 

The stilts here represented are the only kind that should be used. 
They can be quickly changed as the performer becomes accustomed 
to them, by removing the screws, setting the foot pieces higher and 
screwing on again. Sometimes boys cut staddles in the woods 
with a Hmb or crotch at convenient distance for a foot rest, but 
as a general thing they are not fit to use, for they cramp the foot, 
wear the clothes and are not adjustable, beside, if light, are liable to 
split down. 

The short stilts should not be used, for they are dangerous affairs. 
They are made extending only to the knee and lashed to leg and foot. 
If one loses his balance with a set of these, disaster may follow. 
With the stilts illustrated, having no stirrup or foot binder, a boy can 
easily drop to his feet unharmed, in case of a misstep or lost balance. 
The Health Oft. — Get two pulleys, and about eight feet of rope, size of 
a drum cord. Attach the pulleys to the side of the room about the height of 
the shoulders and about two feet apart. Cut the rope into halves and attach 
a weight to one end, and a hand piece to the other, the ropes passing through 
the pulleys. By placing the back toward the wall, a healthy exercise is ob- 
tained by grasping the handles and pushing the arms straight out from the 



r 



^ 



WALKING 
STILTS. 



BALLOON MAKING. 



273 



shoulders, lifting the weights attached at lower ends of the cords. This appar- 
atus can be best arranged in a room that is only studded, as free play can then 
be given the weights. Projections may be 
put on the wall or the ropes pass through a 
partition and the weights placed on the 
other side. 

To make the hand pieces, bore holes 
through two round sticks six inches long, 
near their ends, and after binding the cord 
about eight inches from its end, divide it, 
and put each half strand through the holes 
in stitch tie knots, to keep them from slip- 
ping out ; thus you have a band piece like 
the stirrup of a saddle. The weights should 
not be heavy at first ; so light, indeed, that 
they may be lifted with little effort, and then 
added to, as the exercises are continued. 
Over-exertion is a damage, instead of a 
benefit to any one. 

By use of a double set of pulleys, and 
having the hand pieces come down from 
above, the arms may be exercised by downward pressure. The hand pieces 
should hang about six inches above the hips at first, and be shortened to 
haiig at the breast after having become accustomed to their use. The 
apparatus can be easily constructed in a wood shed, barn or house room> 
that has not been plastered, without damage to walls. 




HOME MADE HEALTH LIFT. 



BALLOON MAKING. 



To Make a Paper Balloon. — Procure a few sheets of tissue paper ; 
different colors if you can ; paste them together so that the sheets will be three 
feet long, then cut eight strips shaped like the drawing, ten inches wide at 
widest place, which should be about fifteen inches from top, five inches wide at 
the bottom, and finish at a point at top. 

Now paste the edges of all these together, and you have the greatest part of 
the work of construction done. If the points at the upper end do not come 
together so as to make the sack air tight, cut a piece of tissue paper on a circle 
as large as a tea saucer, and paste that on top over the junction of the points. 

The balloon will be open at the bottom a foot or more, and around this 



274 



BALLOON MAKING. 



margin put a light stick hoop. A small willow stick peeled, bent and dried 
will answer, but it must be ver)^ light. To fasten, simply paste the edges 
of the strips around it. 

Now cross two wires over the mouth and fasten. These are to support the 
fire ball. The wires should not be larger than linen thread, for it must 
be borne in mind that everything must be light. The balloon is now 
finished. 

IIo\ir to Send Up a Balloon. — Make a pretty firm ball of cotton, 
about the size of an English walnut, and put the fine wire around it twice, leav- 
ing the ends stick out an inch to fasten to the cross wire supports with. 





PATTERN FOK BALLOON. 



PAPER BALLOON INFLATED. 



When ready to send up the balloon, dip the cotton ball in common kerosene 
lamp oil or alcohol, place it upon the cross wires in center of opening, and 
holding a fruit can with both ends off, or a strip of tin bent in a circle over the 
cotton, touch a lighted match to it, and have a second party hold the balloon 
upright. 

As soon as it becomes inflated with hot air, take off the tin chimney and let 
it go. Never attempt to send up a balloon on a windy day. 



KITE MAKING. 



275 



]Vew§paper Balloon. — If newspaper is used for a balloon, it must be 
larger than dimensions given here, as it will be too heavy for the volume of hot 
air. I have given a very good size, and it is from a pattern of my own. 



KITE MAKING. 



To Make a Three Stick Kite Frame. — In their first attempt at 
kite making, boys are usually disappointed in the working of their productions, 
and for their benefit I copy the practical directions given upon this subject by 
S. H. Peabody, A. M. "Among the 
various kinds, the ' three stick ' kite is 
probably the surest for the beginner. 
Get three light, thin, straight sticks of 
cedar, pine or similar wood ; smooth 
them, and let them be about half an inch 
wide by an eighth thick ; perhaps a little 
more. 

" Make two of them thirty inches long 
and the third twenty inches. Mark a 
point ten inches from the end of each of 
the long sticks, and in the middle of the 
short one ; cross the three sticks at these 
points and tie them firmly with twine. 

" Cut notches lengthwise across the 
ends of the sticks, and tie a stout twine 
from end to end, making the outline of 
an irregular six-sided figure, of which 
the bottom may be sixteen inches long ; frame for stick kite. 

the sides about eighteen and a half; the shoulder eleven, and the top eight 
inches. These numbers may vary ; it is necessary only that the corresponding 
sides should be exactly alike, or the kite will not be well balanced. This fin- 
ishes the frame." 

To Put on Kite Paper.— Lay down a sheet of strong, light paper, 
lay the frame upon it, and cut the paper about two inches larger than the frame, 
all around. Fold the outside over the strings, and paste down with good 
boiled flour paste, cutting out the corners where they lap over. 

How to Han^ a Three Stick Kite.— The next thing is to hang 
the kite. Measure from each lower corner five inches along the sticks ; make a 
small hole on each side of the stick through the paper, and tie in the ends of a 




276 



KITE MAKING. 



String, which should measure, when tied, about fourteen inches from stick to 
stick. This is the lower loop. In like manner tie an upper loop, about eight 
inches long, to points about three inches from the upper end of the same stick. 
Remember to have the loops on the face side of the kite ; that is, the side on 
which the sticks are not seen. Join the middle of the two loops by a string 
twenty inches long ; this is the belly-band. Hang the kite by the belly-band 
over your finger, and hold it so that when one end of the kite touches the floor, 
the other may be about a foot above ; there is the place to tie the line, making 
it fast so that it will not slip. 

When the kite floats in the air it should lie at an angle of about forty-five 
degrees ; if it stands too straight the string is fastened too low on the belly- 
band ; if too flat, the string is not low enough. 

To Make a Bow Kite. — All the material required is simply a bow, a 
stick and string. The bow should be three-fourths as long as the upright rod. 
If the length of the straight stick is forty inches, the bow should be thirty 
inches long. When the bow is on, a string should be tied across, bring- 
ing the ends up until twenty inches apart, 
and the string across the center stick ten 
inches from the top, or about that dis- 
tance. 

The bow is fastened to the center rod, 
about an inch below the end. It may be 
notched in a little, and then should be 
firmly bound. Give the cross string a 
wind once around the center stick, so it 
will not work back and forth. The next 
operation is to tie a string to one end of 
the bow, pass it around into a groove 
cut near the lower end, and tie it firmly. 
Then carry it up to the other end of the 
bow. This completes the frame, as shown 
in the engraving. 

Both of the sticks to be used should be 
light. They may be of tough wood, but 
if so, made small. The bow may be 
made from a willow stick divested of bark, 
or from a piece of barrel hoop. A black 
ash hoop from a flour or fruit barrel will provide good material. As the hoops 
made from that timber are split, they are straight grained and may be whittled 
down to the desired size. When dressing out, find the exact center by measure, 
and whittle so that the bow will exactly balance when supported at center upon 
the edge of a knife. Put on paper as described for stick kite. 




FRAME OF BOW KITE. 



KITE MAKING. 277 

To Hang: tlie Bow Kite.— Measure from top downward one-fourth the 
length of the center stick, and up from the bottom same distance, and make 
holes through the paper at these points, and tie in the two ends of a string long 
enough to make a slack. The kite string is to be fastened to this belly 
band, but should be attached with a slip knot so that it may adjust itself when 
the kite is pulling upward, and fasten it there. Put on sufficient tail to make a 
good balance and have plenty of cord for flying the kite with. ^ 

How U> Make a Kite Tail. — The kite must have a tail to balance it. 
If the tail is too heavy the kite will not raise it ; if too light, as is usually the 
case, the kite will not stand steadily, but will drive from side to side. When- 
ever it does that, it should be taken in and more weight added to the tail. 

Cut pieces of writing paper, four inches wide and six or eight inches long ; 
fold back and forth, fan-like, and tie three inches apart, on a string until you 
have three or four yards. Then cut a quantity of strips, half an inch wide and 
twelve or fourteen inches long ; tie the bunch of them by the middle, fold the 
ends together and tie again, makmg a tassel, which you may tie to the end of 
the tail. If the strips are of colored tissue paper all the gayer. 

Tie a string about twenty inches long to the two lower corners of the kite, 
and fasten the tail to the middle of it. Choose a smooth, close, well-spun 
string, linen is the best — and costs most — not too large, or its weight will make 
it "sag," or too small, or the kite will fly away with it. Finally, don't try to 
fly a kite when the wind don't blow. 

Thing^s to be Otoserved.— " The important items are : The kite must 
be truly made, so that one side may just balance the other ; it must hang at the 
proper angle to the wind, and the tail must be rightly proportioned in weight to the 
size of the kite. If the kite don't behave well at first, think which of these 
items have not been carefully attended to, and correct. Don't give up at the 
iirst trial." 

Tlie Bird Kite. — In China the kites are made in the form of different 
species of birds, reptiles, beasts, etc., and are sent up without the long pendant, 
or tail, as in this country. They fly nicely and can be easily made by any boy, 
if directions are followed. 

Frame of the Bird Kite. — Take some small sticks of rattan not more 
than an eighth of an inch square, bend and tie after the manner of the illustra- 
tion No. I. The center stick make fifteen inches long ; the center bow eighteen 
inches long. Bend so as to spread four and a half inches wide at widest part. 
The side bows are made of two sticks each, ten and a half inches long, bend 
and tie as illustrated so that in widest part there is a space of four and a half 
inches, and where they join the upright stick, one and a half inches apart. The 
top of the center bow should come two inches from the top of the upright stick. 
Tie the sticks together with linen thread. The frame is now ready to put on 
the cover, which should be of rather stiff paper. 



278 



KITE MAKING. 



To Cover the Bird Kite. — Fancy paper should be used for covering 
if possible. Red is the most attractive, but red and white will give a very good 
showing ; either the body part white and the wings red, or vice versa, or it may 
be all red or all white, Cut out the body part fourteen inches long. This will 
allow the stick to project at the bottom one inch. Cut the body a little wider 




NO. 1. 
BIRD KITE FRAME. 



NO. 2. 
BIRD KITH COMPLETE. 



than center hoop, so as to paste on, and the tail part of the bird four inches 
wide pasted only to the center stick, the sides left self supporting. The paper 
should be stiff enough not to double in a breeze. 

The wings are cut so as to be pasted to the center hoop and conform to the 
wing bows at the base, but the outer end is cut four and a half inches wide and 
left square at the outer edge. Double the outer edge in center and bring up to 
the bows and trim so as to conform to shape. This will make a sack at the 
outer ends of the wings, which will support the kite when struck by a breeze. 
Do not paste the folded outer end, excepting at corners where it comes to the 
bow. The opening will give escape for the air so as not to break the string or 
burst the kite in a lively breeze. 

To IIang[ tlie Bird Kite. — Take a linen thread, ten inches long, and 
on the paper side punch holes and tie one end of the string to the crossings of 
the center stick and center bow, which is two inches from top. Four and a 
half inches lower, tie the other end of the string to center stick, and this forms 
the belly-band to attach the flying string to, which should be put on same as in 
bow kite. The top end may be cut like a bird's head and ornamented to please 
the taste, but should be kept light. The string should be very light also. 



WIND WHEELS. 279 

WIND WHEELS. 



To Make a Wood Wind Wlieel. — One of the first mechanical 
efforts of a boy is the construction of what he calls a wind mill. There are 
likely to be several failures and perhaps a discouragement, because he cannot 
get one to go as desired. The trouble generally arises from cutting the wrong 
corners when thinning down the flanges. 

To make one properly, take two pine sticks one inch square and ten inches 
long ; halve these together in the crosswise, and holding it up in front of you, 
mark the corners to work off. Hold it so that one stick is upright, then mark 
the left hand corner of top half and the right hand corner of lower 
half. Then turn it a quarter of the way around so that the other stick is up- 
right, then mark that the same way and take the cross pieces apart and chamfer 
down according to the marks and you may be sure that the wheel will whirl, if 
properly hung. 

The stick to which this wheel is attached must be cut fan shaped or more like 
a butter paddle, so as to act as a weather vane and present the wheel to the 
wind. Make the end of the stick, against which the wheel runs, a little round- 
ing, and as an axletree, file a nail perfectly round or use a wire with the end 
turned at right angle. A tin washer should be put upon the front to prevent 
the wire end or nail head wearing into the wood. 

After the wheel is put on, get the balancing point and then bore a gim- 
let hole for the working of the vane. Drive a piece of wire into the top of 
a center post which should be rounded a little at the end, and drop on the shaft, 
and the thing is complete. If it is desired to attach power to the wind wheel, 
the axletree must turn with the wheel and have a crank formed at the end. 

HoAV to Make a Pin IVlieel. — A paper pin wheel affords no little 
amusement to children. A stick six inches long the size of a lead pencil, a pin 
and sheet of letter or calendered paper is all required to make one. Cut the paper 
square, six inches less or more, fold down one way with corners even, then fold 
down again so that two fold Imes cross in the center. Straighten out, then cut 
from the four corners toward the center until withm half an inch of that point. 
Now bend over in a circle each right hand half of the split corners, to the cen- 
ter, and put a pin through the four pieces and the main piece into the end of the 
stick. A slight motion forward will make it whirl briskly. 

Use of the Wind Wheel. — The wheel, especially in the rural districts, 
is of considerable value, as it not only makes a good weather vane, but very 
clearly indicates the strength of the wind. I very well remember how my 
father every morning consulted a wind wheel I had constructed, to determine 
whether or not it was to be a good day for the performance of contemplated 
work upon the farm. 



28o HOW TO MANAGE A WATCH. 



HOW TO MANAGE A WATCH. 



Improper Haiidlmg^ of a Watcli. — The first watch that a young man 
or boy" possesses usually requires more repairing than any half dozen subse- 
quent ones, for the reason that it is not properly managed, and meddled with 
too much by opening to see the works. 

Setting tlie Hands. — The important thing here is to have a key that fits 
the post and to have the key clean. The hands may be turned backward or 
forward at will ; it will do no harm, although the popular idea is the reverse of 
this. How people came to get the impression that turning the hands of a watch 
backward is injurious, is difficult to determine ; probably from the fact that the 
minute hand of a striking clock cannot be turned back past XII. 

Mow to IVind a l¥atch. — It is best to form the habit of winding a 
watch at a certain hour, once in the twenty-four. The best time is when tak- 
ing off the watch at night. It is not so likely to be overlooked then as in the 
morning, for sometimes one oversleeps and prepares a toilet in a hurry. 

Obtain a good key, and one that fits perfectly. An experienced jeweler says 
that when the key is not properly fitted, it slips off, giving the whole train of 
wheelwork a severe jar from recoil ; its effect on the watch is similar to that 
produced on the wearer when he sits down on a seat which is about four inches 
lower than he expected. 

After a few such shocks, in winding it will be found to slip back occasionally, 
•and unless timely repairs are made, it will some day go down with a crack, that 
will involve an expense of several dollars to repair it as it should be. 

A key, all brass, properly fitted, is the best ; a key with soft steel pipe is the 
next best and a hard steel key worst of all. The soft key will not spoil your 
watch, for if either give way it will be the key, leaving the square of the watch 
perfect. 

Hardened keys will not yield to wear, consequently the watch must, and if 
the winding square be spoiled, no poor workman can replace it properly, and a 
good one only at considerable expense ; experience will prove keys to be 
cheaper than winding posts. 

The key should be applied clean. The habit of blowing out dirt from the 
cavity will prove injurious if the metal is placed close enough to the lips to be 
moistened, as it will be transmitted to the post and cause rust. 

Breaking Main Springs of Watches. — Many people believe that 
winding a watch up with too much force will break the main spring. This is 
not the case. A main spring can never be broken by winding, if provided with a 
stop, as nearly every watch is. The watch, of course, can be broken in some 
part by hard winding, perhaps the .hook or chain, or teeth of the main wheel. 



VIOLIN AND FLUTE. 28l 

"Why main springs break no one has yet fully determined, although several the- 
ories have been offered. As jewelers generally get a •' run " of broken springs 
at certain seasons of the year, it is believed that certain conditions of the at- 
mosphere, perhaps electric or hydrometric, produce the annoying breakage. 

Regulating- a Watcli. — Some believe that the regulator is put in the 
watch for the use of the watchmaker, when, the fact is, it is principally for the 
convenience of the owner. The plate over which the regulating rod works is 
jnarked for fast at one side, and slow at the other, perhaps with simply the let- 
ters F and s. Should the watch be going too fast, move the regulator a trifle 
toward the "slow," and if going slow, do the reverse; you cannot move the 
regulator too gently at a time, and the only inconvenience that can arise is that 
you may have to perform that duty more than once. 

Oeiieral Care of Watch. — Don't open the watch to show every friend 
how nice the works are. Open to the machinery^ only when absolutely neces- 
sary, and that is almost never. Do not allow the watch to run down. Keep it 
in as uniform position as possible. If it lies on any surface, let it be with face 
up, and pendant ring turned under, so as to keep the upper part most elevated. 



VIOLIN AND FLUTE. 



Keying Up a Violin. — Keep the instrument always tuned up to concert 
pitch. Many, especially country fiddlers, have an idea that they save their 
strings by loosening them when they are done using their violin. This is quite 
absurd ; for the string is almost certain to break when it is again put up to 
proper pitch, says an experienced violinist. 

Selecting Violin Strings. — Many strings are injured by rubbing them 
•with pumice stone to make them look nicely and by bleaching them with sul- 
phur. Strings can be good and at the same time have a good appearance, but 
care should be taken to discriminate between those that have been pumice 
stoned and sulphured, and those that have a naturally fine appearance, which 
they will have if the stock is good and properly manufactured. 

Four-thread strings are usually false ; so three-thread strings are preferable. 
A false string can readily be detected by taking a length between the thumb 
and fore-finger of each hand and then snapping it with the little finger of the 
right hand. If its vibrations are regular, causing it to form only two lines, it 
^ill not " squeak," but if its vibrations are not regular, and cause it to form a 
third line (which can easily be distinguished vibrating between the two outside 
lines), the string will squeak, and is absolutely worthless. 

The very best strings are generally a little "off color," and dark strings are 



282 VIOLIN AND FLUTE. 

the Strongest. In selecting strings decline those of a yellow cast when this 
color has come from saturating them with old rancid oil. 

How to Put on Violin Strings. — Always put the small end of the 
strings nearest the tail piece. In adjusting the strings to the peg do not tie it, 
but simply put it through the peg, and then dip it once under, toward your left 
hand, and by turning the peg the string will then become fastened without fur- 
ther trouble. 

Leave no superfluous string dangling, or wound around the head for futirre 




VIOLIN AS IT SHOULD BE STRUNG UP. 

use. Many persons labor under the mistaken idea that they save their super- 
fluous string by leaving it wound around the head of the violin or tail-piece, to 
be pulled through after it breaks ; but this is [)oor economy, as the string be- 
comes dry and rotten by being long exposed to the air. Moreover, that part 
of the string which comes in contact with the pegs or tail-piece will become sa 
jamir.ed as to unfit it for use as far as tone is concerned. Fit up the instrument 
with a clean look, as represented in the engraving. 

Improvement of Violin String^§. — Just before using an old, dry 
string, the application of a very little fresh sweet oil (or still better, the oil of 
almonds) will infuse new life and give it a clear, crystal like appearance, and at 
the same time add much to its strength and durability. The oil should be 
carefully wiped from that portion of the string that comes in contact with the 
bow, with a soft cloth ; the bow should be well resined and often, and the resia 
wiped from the bow stick before and after use. 

Speeks in Violin Strings. — The same writer says that little specks in 
strings are sometimes considered as indications of weakness ; this is another 
old fiddler's whim. Most strings having become seasoned (and they should be- 
come well seasoned before using) will look a little speckled. This only in- 
dicates that they are not too green, and are much better for use. 

Vl^inding of the G String. — Silver-wound strings always have a dull, 
metallic sound. Copper wire is the best always for the G string. The intestine 
should be well stretched before winding, and then the wire will not be so apt ta 
become loose and jar. A little oil, however, will usually remedy this difficulty. 



HOW TO MANAGE A GUN. 285 

Tarnish and Stain for Violin§. — The recipe for violin varnish, as 
used by German violin makers, is four parts of sandarac resin, two parts shel- 
lac, one part mastic, two parts benzoes resin, two parts Venetian turpentine, 
and thirty-two parts of alcohol. The solid ingredients are first dissolved in the 
alcohol and the Venetian turpentine added afterward, and finally the whole 
carefully filtered to get rid of all dust. Brushes to be kept scrupulously clean. 
For staining, Campeachy wood is used, mixed with about one quarter yellow 
dye wood, and boiled for about two hours in five times its weight of water in a 
copper or earthenware vessel ; no iron should come in contact with it, as this 
makes the solution black. The violins are colored with this solution when well 
cleaned, and afterward varnished. (See page 171.) 

Oiling a New Flute. — An old musician says : A loint the flute thoroughly 
and repeatedly with pure, raw linseed oil, prepared by letting it remain un- 
shaken for several weeks, when the clear oil should be poured off for use. Pure 
olive oil will do better, but it must be oil of olives. It should be applied inside 
and out every time the flute is put away, it having been carefully cleaned from 
moisture for the first year, after which an application once a month will be suf- 
ficient. 

On taking the flute from its case for use, the oil should be wiped out with an- 
old silk handkerchief (cotton will do for the outside) wrapped tightly around a 
stick, using as much friction as possible. 

To Stop Cracks in a Flute. — To stop cracks that have already ap- 
peared, pack them full with good beeswax, which has been mixed by melting 
and stirring with a small portion (say one sixth) of resin, sufficient to stiffen, 
but still leave it viscid ; apply when cooled and cram it in with the finger. Do- 
not be tempted to use shellac or any rigid cement, as it will fail on account of 
the distention and contraction of the wood by change of temperature. It is 
well to pass your thumb over the cracks, filled as above, before commencing to- 
play, the object being to smooth them down and insure their being tight, which 
rigid cement will not admit of. 



HOW TO MANAGE A GUN. 



Corkin§[ a Oun. — To make a gun do its part well, it must be kept in 
good condition for service. There is a mistaken idea very generally prevailing, 
that a gun needs cleaning every time it is used, or rather after having been fired 
a few times. The better way is to so manage that it will not get foul, and to 
do this obtain good powder, and then keep the barrel tightly corked when not 
in use. I have used a gun for a long time, firing it more or less every week,, 
without cleaning or wiping out the barrel, and yet always having a clean gun. 



284 HOW TO MANAGE A GUN. 

The collection of burnt powder along the interior of the gun is soft and oily 
when the deposit is made and will not harden up so long as the piece is in use — 
providing the powder is a good article — but when allowed to stand, the action 
of the atmosphere dries up the collection into a hard crust, and every time a 
load is discharged thereafter the accumulation increases. Now by corking the 
muzzle perfectly tight as soon as the piece is to be set av^^ay, and puttmg a bit 
of rubber upon the tube beneath the hammer, the burnt powder will not cake 
«jp as air is excluded. 

Watts evidently did not understand this matter when he wrote the following : 

" If fired only once a day, 
'Twere wrong to put j'our piece away 
Unwashed, because you'll always find 
Some filth corrosive left behind. 
And so as you from sport return — 
(The following words let each one learn, 
Seeing them all in order done), 
Feed dog — feed self — and clean your gun !" 

How to Clean a Criin. — To wash a gun use warm water and a tow 
swab fastened on the end of an elastic rod. Work this up and down, adding 
water until the liquid comes out pure and the tow unstained. Then fill the 
barrel full of boiling water, invert the gun and let all the water drain out of the 
muzzle ; set it by the stove until well dried, then wipe out briskly with tow and 
follow with a swab which is very slightly dampened with sweet oil. If the tube 
is not entirely dry, burn a cap or two upon it before the last wiping and oiling 
takes place. Wipe well around the hammer and lock, then dry the part by the 
iire and oil lightly. 

Protecting Outer Surface of a Oun. — People differ in opinions 
respecting management of the outer surface of the barrel, but there are few, if 
any, who like a bright one. In sighting over a polished tube, the glare of the 
sunlight fatigues the eye and diverts the aim. This is so well known, that no 
true sportsman would think of polishing the barrel of his rifle or fowling piece. 

My plan has been to allow the slightest show of the rust to appear and then 
rub the iron with a woolen cloth moistened with oil ; this gives a dark gray 
appearance or dead color that will not reflect strong sunlight. 

Murcurial ointment is said to be one of the best materials known for prevent- 
ing rust on gun barrels, but I have never tried it ; it should be rubbed 
thoroughly outside and well dried off, so as to leave but little on the surface. 
The quicksilver forms a thin film which protects the metal from moisture. 

Brovrning' a €run Barrel. — There is a process for browning a barrel 
which is said to be effectual, but it requires considerable care in performing the 
same. The barrel is first thoroughly cleaned and made free from grease by use 
of a little potash dissolved in water. Then take one ounce of nitric acid and 
one ounce of blue vitriol, dissolved in four onces of soft water, and mix all 



HOW TO MANAGE A GUN. 285. 

together in a pint of water. Warm this mixture shghtly, and apply it gentljr 
with a sponge. 

The gun barrel must now be set away in a dry place, all night, when a film. 
of oxide will be formed upon it in the morning. This film is now rubbed off 
with a scratch-wire brush, and another application of nitric acid solution is 
made ; and so on, three times successively, when a coat of oxide of sufficient 
depth will be formed. The gun barrel is then brushed thoroughly, afterward 
washed with a little lime water, to destroy any free acid that may remain in the 
pores of the metal. When dry, the barrel is again rubbed with a stiff hair 
brush, and is fit for varnishing. 

To Prevent a Oun Bursting. — Out of one hundred cases of double 
barrelled guns bursting, nine-tenths noted have been traced to a defect in the 
left barrel. The reason is simply that the right one is most frequently used 
and reloaded, perhaps ten times to the left being discharged once. Every time 
the right barrel is discharged the gunpowder in the left is pulverized more or 
less by the shock, or the wadding moved up a trifle, which leaves a space be- 
tween the charge and wadding. Naturally when the left barrel is discharged 
it explodes. These accidents can be avoided by sending the ramrod home with 
one or two smart blows into the non^discharged barrel every time the other is 
reloaded. 

Handling' a Crun. — The American Sportsman gives some most excel- 
lent hints regarding the handling of a gun, the substance of which is as follows : 

Always handle a gun as if it were loaded ; never let it point at yourself or any 
one ; never point your gun at any living thing unless you mean to kill. Always 
carry your gun at half-cock ; never with the hammer upon the cap. Half-cock 
your gun ; if it will pull off in this condition, take an ax and split the stock,, 
bend the barrel and sell it for old iron. 

If it will not pull off, put a cap on the cone and let the striker down upon it ; 
now strike the back of the hammer with a stone or against the door jam, and 
. if the striker fits the cone decently well, the cap will be exploded. This is what 
happens when a man carrying a loaded gun with the striker down upon the cap, 
shoots himself, while riding in a wagon, in tumbling down, or climbing over a 
fence or stone wall. 

Put a cap en the cone and let the striker back almost to half-cock and let it 
fall. If the main spring is good for anything, the cap is exploded. More acci- 
dents happen in this way than in any other. A gun is carried through under- 
brush, dragged out of a boat, pulled on the ground by the muzzle ; your dogs 
jump upon you, the hammer catches in your clothing ; in either of these, and in 
a hundred other ways, the hammer is liable to be drawn back almost to half- 
cock, and then let fall upon the cap. If it is a good one an explosion ought to . 
follow. 

Now, half-cock your gun, draw the hammer back nearly to full cock and let 



■286 HOW TO MANAGE A GUN. 

it fall. It will stop at the half-cock notch, and no blow is given. So always 
carry your gun at half-cock. If you cock it expecting to get a shot, and are 
disappointed, hold the muzzle straight up in the air, and let the cock back at 
half-cock. 

If you know of no other way of ascertaining whether a gun is loaded or not 
than by putting it in your mouth and blowing, or if you feel inclined to draw 
the cap, retire to a safe distance, and at once blow out your brains before you 
kill or maim other people by stupidity or carelessness. 

How to Load a Oun. — Set the piece at an angle of about forty-five 
degrees, holding it with the left hand. The gun should be in this position for 
convenience in pouring in powder and shot, but should be brought perfectly 
erect as the wads are pushed down so that they will set squarely upon a level bed. 

Act deliberately, no matter how anxious you may be to get ready for firing. 
If a muzzle loading shot gun, there are more chances for mistakes in charging 
than if a rifle, but it is not unfrequent that excitement has led to ramming a 
bullet down without powder beneath it. It should be remembered also that 
the bullet does not rest upon a solid bed until the rod will bound. 

The wad in a shot gun upon the powder should be well bedded down, but 
that over the shot pressed down with only sufficient firmness to hold the shot 
in place. 

Before loading a gun that has been standing unused for some time, explode a 
cap or two upon the nipple to make sure there is no stoppage. In loading a 
double-barreled gun, charge each with powder, right first, left second, and then 
ram down a wad upon the top of each, leaving the rod in the last, until the shot 
has been put in the first. Then put on the top wad, and leave the rod in that 
until the shot has been put in the other. This precaution will prevent the lia- 
bility of getting both charges of shot into one barrel. 

Young hunters who get the "buck fever " are liable to all sorts of mistakes 
in the handling of a gun, but by beginning right at first, they will be likely to 
keep so. 

To Keep a Oun from Rusting^. — Clean the barrel occasionally and 
cover the exposed portions of the metal with a film of linseed oil. For lubrica- 
ting the lock, purified olive or sperm oil is the best. It is also a good plan to 
give a gun an elevated position in the room where it is kept. It lessens the 
chance for rusting, as the atmosphere is warmer and dryer at the top of the 
room, and besides, the gun is out of the way of children. 

To Make a Ramrod. — It is necessary that a ramrod be perfectly 
straight, therefore it is best that it be made from a split stick of straight 
grained hickory. Lay it upon a level surface and plane it square, working by 
straight edge lines ; then take off the corners, and by means of glass and sand- 
paper, scrape and polish until it fits the barrel and stock socket. Do not use 
a knife upon it. 



BOW AND ARROW MAKING. 287 

BOW AND ARROW MAKING. 



Tlie Indian Bow. — As the Indian bow is considered the most powerful 
and best, a description of its construction will be a good guide for making one 
for civilized use. The Indian bow is generally four feet long, one and one-half 
inches wide, and an inch thick at the middle. It tapers from the center toward 
the ends, and is but half an inch wide and half an inch thick at the extremities. 

At one end, the bow string is notched into the wood and made permanently- 
fast, while at the other end two notches are cut, and the string at that end of 
the bow is made like a slip-knot or loop. 

When the bow is to be used, the warrior sets the end to which the string is 
made fast firmly on the ground, and then bends down the other end until the 
loop slips into the notch. It is never kept strung except when in actual use, as 
it would lose its strength and elasticity by being constantly bent. The wood 
used is ash, hickory, ironwood, elm and cedar. All of the wood, save cedar, 
requires seasoning, and is not worked until thoroughly dry. For the use of 
boys and beginners the size should be much reduced. 

A Fancy Boiv. — The Indians do not generally put a very attractive me- 
chanical finish upon their bows. The weapons are made for practical purposes 
and not for ornamentation. The bow made after the fashion given may be at- 
tractively finished by giving the inner surface and the edges an oval shape. 
After smoothing up, rub with a woolen cloth dampened in linseed oil, then glue 
to the central part of the bow a strip of green or red velvet six inches long. 

How to Make an Arrow. — The arrows must be of well seasoned 
sticks, perfectly straight and of exactly the same length, for if of different 
lengths, they fly differently, and unless made in all respects alike, the aim is 
destroyed. The shafts being made even, the next work is to form the string- 
notch. This is done with a sharp knife, and when made properly, the bottom 
of the notch will be precisely in the center of the shaft. 

Headings the Arro^v. — Blunt arrows are used for shooting at a mark, 
etc., but when used for game, steel points or heads are put in. Where the 
heads are used, a slit is sawed opposite the notch end and the stem of the 
arrow-head inserted and held by binding with thread. The slit must be exactly 
in the center. 

Feathering the Arrow. — The next process is to put on the feathers. 
To do this properly, great care must be taken. Turkey quills are soaked in 
warm water to make them split easily and uniformly. The leather is then 
stripped from the quill and put on the shaft. 

Three feathers are placed on each shaft and laid equidistant along the stem. 
The big end of the feather is fastened near the notch of the shaft and laid six 
inches along the wood. The feathers are glued to the arrow. 



288 HOW TO MAKE A CROSS GUN. 

HOW TO MAKE A CROSS GUN. 



Liaying Out a Cro§s Gun, — For a medium sized gun, take a board — 
whitewood is best — thirty-three inches long, six and a half inches wide and an 
inch thick. Laying the board down flat, measure from left upper corner 
down, as shown in dotted lines, three inches, then to the right eleven inches, and 
draw line from these two points across the board. This gives the slope to the 
upper part of the stock. 



CROSS GUN LAID OUT. 

P'rom the lower left hand corner of the board, strike a line up to within an 
Inch and a half of upper edge. Measure down from upper right corner, one and 
a half inches, and draw a line, which forms the barrel of the gun. Three 
inches from front or muzzle end begin the projection for the bow mortise. The 
gun at this point should be two and a half inches wide, and the under surface 
three inches long. Make a three quarter inch square mortise in center for the 
bow, or the mortise may be one inch up and down and three quarters of an inch 
wide. 

To cut the arrow groove, the stick had better be taken to a carpenter, who, 
with a match plane or carpenter's plow, will groove it in five minutes as it 
should be. Unless the arrow channel is true, the gun will be a worthless affair. 
It cannot be dug with knife or gouge so as to be straight and smooth. 

Three Part Cross Oun. — Where a plane cannot be obtained for cut- 
ting the arrow groove, the gun may be made of three pieces, and that tool not 
needed. Take two pieces of board, one fourth inch thick, and one board, three 
eighths thick, and screw them together. The three eighth piece in the center, 
sink three eighths of an inch below the top edges of the others, which forms the 
arrow channel, screw them together solid at such points as will not come on the 
lines for marking out, and then proceed as with the board described under head 
of " Laying out a Cross Gun." 

Cross Oun Cap. — Most boys like a cap on the top of the gun to give it 
more of the appearance of a rifle. This is easily done by taking out a little 
wood for the string to work in, and putting on a thin cap. The first illustration 
shows how to cut the string place, and the second the cross gun with the cap 
on. 

The Cross Oun Bow. — The length of the bow should be decided by 
the length of the gun. A bow for the dimensions I have given should be about 



HOW TO MAKE A CROSS GUN. 289 

thirty-two inches long. It is a very good rule to make the bow twice as long 
as the distance from the trigger to the mortise. As to making the bow, wood 
to be used, etc., see " How to Make a Bow." When setting the bow, have its 
right angles stand true, that is, each side at direct angles with the gun. 

Cross Ouii Trigger. — When making the gun out of a solid board, make 
a trigger mortise through the gun at point of string-notch. Where three pieces 
are used, leave o^it center piece for an inch or more at string-notch. Shape the 
trigger as shown in dotted lines on cut, and put the pin through near the front, 
so that by pulling it back the upper surface is lifted to displace the string. 

The Elastic Cross Oun. — A stiff bow may be made and rubber strings 
used to force the arrow. I say strings, for the reason that two should be 




CROSS GUN WITH CAP PIECE. 



applied, one at each end, connected by a cord in the center. If rubber is made 
to cross the gun, it will soon wear out. If the bow is bent a little circling, 
the convex or swelled side toward the butt of the gun, all the better. This 
will give a stronger action to the elastic strings. 

Finislimg Up a Cross Oun. — The gun can be made to have a finished 
appearance and to appear lighter than it really is, by rounding the under side 
of the barrel part and finishing the stock on both edges. If one prefers, the 
breech may be made after the style of a rifle, and the barrel made round. 

There is no need of having a cross gun cumbersome. The barrel part may 
be cut away, so when finished up it is only inch and a quarter ; but inch and a 
half is better, if rounded up on bottom only. 

Cross Oun Arrow. — The arrow should be perfectly straight and of hard 
wood. Split out the stick twelve or fifteen inches long, then plane two sides 
level, and with a straight edge draw two lines with distance apart to equal the 
thickness, which should be but a trifle less than the width of the groove. Do 
not attempt. to round the arrow after it is dressed out, but leave it square, and 
do not brad the end, for it then becomes a dangerous missile. If the groove of 
the gun and the arrow are both true, very accurate shooting may be done. 

How to Sight a Cross Oun. — Where the top cap is put on, the gun 
may be very easily sighted. Fasten the gun in a firm position — screw it in a 
vise if you have one, then shoot the arrow several times at a board set up in 
front of it, twenty or more feet away, according to strength of bow. It will be 
found that the different arrow marks will be very close together. Get the 



290 HOW TO MAKE A CROSS GUN. 

central point, and then sight the gun to that spot without removing the weapon 
from its secured position. 

Let a piece of hoop-iron, one-fourth of an inch wide and three-eighths of an 
inch high, in the butt of the gun, just back of the string-notch, and with a three 
cornered file cut a notch in it to sight through. This done, set a bit of lath 
nail at the front and file this down, until by bringing its point into the notch, 
when sighting, it is on a direct line with the spot where the arrows struck. 



SMALL WEAPONS. 



To Make a Soomerang-. — It is generally supposed that this very pecu- 
liar implement can only be made by those who are natives of Australia, who 
discovered its pecuharities by throwing crooked clubs, but such is not the case, 
as there are no prescribed dimensions or shape in its construction, further than 
that it be a stick so bent that it has a concaved and convexed side, as repre- 
sented in the illustration. I have made them from crooked limbs of trees and 




THE LARGE AND SMALL BOOMERANG. 



from sticks dressed out and bent into shape by steaming. Before bending, the 
stick, two feet long, or any length you choose, should be gradually tapered from 
center to ends, which should be small. By use of the jack knife the stick may 
be made easy to the hand when throwing. 

To Tliroiv a BooiBierang. — Take the implement in the right hand as 
you would a light ball club or hammer ; have the hollowed side downward, or 
away from you. Fix upon some object a good distance away, then raise and 
hurl the club at the mark with all your might, somewhat upward, and then 
watch the eccentric operations of the boomerang. It will not go where you in- 
tended to have it. Perhaps it will take a sudden turn to right or left, as if it 
were acting from a new impulse, or it may turn suddenly and come dashing 
back to the thrower. Never use the boomerang where there are people or ani- 
mals about, for only an expert in its use can determine its course. 

The Paper ESoomerang-. — A diminutive boomerang may be made 
from a bit of card board. Cut from a common visiting card the toy represented 
in the small engraving, and just that size. Lay it upon the large part of the 



SMALL WEAPONS. 



291 



left thumb, the hollow side from you, and one end projecting over sufficiently to 
snap it with the middle finger nail of the right hand. Fire it somewhat up- 
ward, and you will see it abruptly return back after going a yard or so from 
you. 

The Crotcli ^ling. — This is a little device by which a stone may be 
thrown a considerable distance with violence and precision. To make it, cut a 
notched stick in diameter the size of the finger, the two prongs three or four 
inches long, and the bottom part with sufficient length to 
hold in the hand conveniently. To the ends of the prongs 
attach elastic strings with considerable resisting power, and 
to the two rubber ends fasten a piece of leather cut chest- 
nut leaf shape with a hole in the center, after the manner 
of the common sling. To shoot it, hold the stick in the 
left hand, put a stone in the leather piece, then draw it 
back with the right hand, and let it fly. 

To Mold a Lead Cannon. — When you have 
determined upon the size you wish to make the cannon, 
whittle out a round stick of the proposed size, in the form 
of a pop-gun ramrod. If the cannon is to be three quar- 
ters of an inch in diameter, and four inches long, have the 
stick that size eight inches long, one half the length cut 
down to one fourth of an inch in size, and made round 
and smooth. Now wrap the stick with letter paper, by rolling it on smoothly, 
and wind the large part with string. Set this upright in an auger hole and 
pour in the lead. The lead should come above the end of the stick at least one 
fourth of an inch. The fuse hole may be made by having a little wooden pin 
go through the paper to extreme end of the mold stick. 

Tlie Flip Stick. — Take a board six inches wide and a foot or so long, 
set it on edge, and secure it there by stakes or any other means. Eight 
inches from this set a brick on edge, or a block four inches high. Across the 
wider board lay a stout piece of hard wood, eighteen inches long, an inch thick, 




THE CROTCH SLING. 




THE FLIP STICK IN POSITION. 



and an inch and a half wide, and upon the lower end place a round stone ; then 
strike the opposite end with a club, and the stone will be thrown high in the air. 
By boring a hole half way through the lower end, a rest will be given for the 
stone. The upper edge of the stationary board should be rounded. 



292 



SMALL WEAPONS. 



Swifit Srrand Jack. — Bend over a small sapling and divest it of limbsv 
Holding the topmost end near the ground set a crotched stick astride the pole, 
then let the tree suddenly go. The sapHng in whipping back to place will 
throw the jack high in the air. A few trials will have to be made to get the 
right position or incline to the crotched stick. By attaching strips of red and 
white cloth to the jack for streamers a much better effect is obtained so far as 
the sight of the messenger is concerned. At night a fuse may be fastened to 
the jack as he goes on his swift errand. 

How to Make a I>art. — Make an arrow same as for the bow, only 
feather heavier, and on two sides only. Point the front end with a taper not 
more than an inch long. Cut a notch at the balancing point with an incline 
front, like the notch in a crochet hook. .Take a stick a little shorter than the 
arrow, and tie a small, stout string to it six or eight inches long, with a knot at 




THE DART AND DART STICK. 

free end. Place the string in the notch, and holding the arrow end in left hand 
and the stick in the right, draw the string tight and hold it so, then after two or 
three sweeping motions of the body and arms, let it fly. When a boy, I used 
to throw darts over the tops of the tallest trees. 

To Make tke Spring- Oun. — Take a piece of elder bush of any length 
that can be obtained between joints ; punch out the pith, then cut as repre- 
sented in the illustration, and put in a spring of whalebone or tough hickory. 
The stick to be used as a missile should be made in length and size to corre- 




THK ELDER SPRING GUN. 



spond with the gun. It is discharged by drawing back upon the spring end at 
the bottom, and then letting it suddenly go. Where an elder bush cannot be 
readily obtained, a piece of bamboo may be used, but it should be of small 
size. 



TRAPS AND TRAPPING. 



293 



TRAPS AND TRAPPING. 



The Steel Trap. — The most convenient device for capturing most kinds 
of animals is the steel trap, but there are places where other styles are much 
better, and of these I shall speak specially. 

Ho^v to Make a Box Trap. — For the bottom, cut a board fifteen 
inches long, and eight inches wide ; two side pieces same length and seven 
inches wide. Nail the two side pieces to bottom, then take for back end a 
board eight inches wide and eighteen inches long. After fitting in, bevel the 
sides so that the upper end will be but half an inch wide, and in this cut a 




COMMON BOX TRAP. 



notch for string. Next fit a top board, eight inches wide, or a little less, so 
that it will work between the sides easily. Cut this short enough, so that when 
the front end piece is nailed on, it will make a good finish at that point. 
Round the corners of the cover a little at back end, so that the lid will work 
-easily. To hinge it, bore a small hole on each side through the side board at 
rear end into the cover, and put in wooden pins or wires. By boring the holes 
in the top or cover board a little larger than those in the sides, the hinge pins 
will keep their places securely, and the trap-board work with ease. 

At the center of the box, at the back, bore a half inch hole for the spindle to 
pass through. Make the spindle of good hickory ten inches long, and in the 
center make a hole through it, and put in a piece of stiff wire an inch long, or a 
lath nail with head taken off. An inch or less from the end of the spindle cut 
a notch for the catch. In the back end board, about three inches above spin- 
dle hole, cut a notch also, then make the catch of right length to reach from 
notch to notch. Drive a nail in the center of the top at the front ; tie a string to 
this, pass it through the notch at the elevated point of rear end board, and tie on 
the catch stick at a point where the trap-lid will be elevated about as illustrated. 
To set the trap bait the spindle and pass the notched end through the hole 
from the inside. This trap is of right size for rats, squirrels, chipmunks, etc. 
For rabbits and other game of larger size, the trap must be proportionately in- 
creased in its dimensions. 



294 



TRAPS AND TRAPPING. 



The Figure Four. — As the figure four is used upon various devices in 
way of traps, I give an illustration of the sticks in position, so that the inex- 
perienced boy will have no difficulty in making one. The only tool necessary is 




THE FIGURE FOUR AND PLANK TRAP. 

a common pocket knife. The best material for the figure is seasoned hickory. 
It may be made of any size one desires, and there are no set rules as to propor- 
tion. 

How to Make a Dead-fall. — All the tools necessary to make a dead- 
fall are an ax and pocket knife. Cut two poles six inches through and about 
ten feet long. Place one upon the other, and hold them in position by driving 
stakes on each side near the ends. The stakes should not bind the upper pole 
so as to interfere with its being raised up and let down freely. 

(nOMffi 




CHEAPLY CONSTRUCTED DEAD-FALL. 



Near one end drive a row of stakes in a semicircle of about fifteen inches, 
the terminus at each side being the poles. These are to prevent the game 
getting at the bait without going between the poles. They should be two or 
more feet high and driven not more than two inches apart. 

Now you are ready to set the trap. Lift the upper pole and place a figure 
four beneath it, with the spindle baited and pointing obliquely into the inclosure. 

The bait should not be more than six or eight inches from the pole. If too 
far away, the animal will pass the trap before springing it. For very large 
game, logs instead of poles are used. 

How to Hake a Springy Pole. — Sometimes when catching small 
game with the steel trap, it is best to get the animal out of the way of others 
that will devour it if held fast on the ground, and this may be done by means 



TRAPS AND TRAPPING. 



295 



of the spring pole. If convenient, trim a small tree free from limbs, bend it 
over and bring the extreme top to the ground. To this, a few inches from the 
end, fasten the chain of the trap and then place the point of the pole or staddle 
under a catch previously prepared, by driving a stick firmly into the ground with 
a projection upon it. Make the catch just sufficient to hold the string pole, and 
so that it will loosen and fly up when the animal jerks upon the trap. Thus 
the game will be suspended out of reach of hungry quadrupeds. 

Clog for a Trap, — The Trappers' Guide very sensibly warns hunters 
against chaining a trap securely when taking large animals, as some of them, 
if caught in a trap that is staked fast, will pull their legs off, or beat the trap to 
pieces ; but if allowed to drag the trap about with a moderate weight attached, 
will behave more gently, or at least will not be able to get loose for want of 
purchase. The weight used in such cases is called a clog. It is usually a pole 
or a stick of wood, of a size suited to the ring of the trap- chain, and to the size 
of the game. 

As the object of it is to encumber the animal, but not to hold it fast, the chain 
should be attached to it near one of its ends, so that it will not be likely to get 
fast among the recks and bushes for a considerable time. The usual way is to 
slip the ring over the large end of the pole and fasten it with a wedge. The 
animal will not be likely to drag it any great distance, and can be easily trailed. 

Tlie Tube Trap. — When a boy I made a trap for capturing muskrats 
and other small animals, which proved very successful. It was simply a box 
three feet long, six or eight inches square, with wire drops at each end. A 




THE TUBE TRAP. 



roller or movable stick is fitted into each end, and by gimlet holes wires fastened 
thereto large enough to incline at forty-five degrees, as shown in the illustration. 

The animal lifts thf* drcp in going in from either end, but cannot get out. 
When set at the hole of an animal, capture may be expected. Wind the hinge 
piece with wire to prevent an animal gnawing it off. Make the box of old 
board and use old wires, such as pail bails, etc. 

Mow to Make a IVater Pole. — As aquatic animals, when taken in a 
steel trap, plunge to the bottom of the stream or pond, they may be easily kept 
there and drowned, by use of the wat^r or sliding pole. Cut a shrub or staddl'- 
a little longer than the water is deep, leaving six inches or more from the toj) 
two projecting limbs, that are nearly or quite opposite each other, cut them four 



296 TRAPS AND TRAPPING. 

or five inches long. Trim the balance of the pole smooth, save immediately 
above the tw^o limbs mentioned, then leave projections, but not so long but that 
the ring of the trap will slip over them when going from butt to top. At the 
place where the trap is set, force the top end of the pole mto the bottom of the 
stream up to the long projections, then place the ring of the trap upon the pole, 
and secure the butt to the bank. 

The animal can easily take the trap down with it, but the short spurs will 
prevent its going up again, and the two long spurs will make an effectual 
means of drawing the trap and game from the bed of the stream or pond to 
the bank. 

The Plank Trap. — To catch rats, mice, moles and other small animals, 
the plank trap is well adapted. Take a plank or board a foot wide and any- 
where from two to six feet long, according to the vermin to be caught, and place 
under one end the figure four, baited with cheese, as represented in cut of fig- 
ure four. 

The Sarrel Trap. — The barrel may be used in several ways lor entrap- 
ping animals. To catch the skunk, bore two holes with a gimlet in the center 
of the bottom, and with a string tie to the spot a piece of meat. Set the barrel 




THE SKUNK TRAP. 



at an incline, as illustrated, so that the animal may get into it. When the 
skunk reaches the bottom, the barrel turns upright and the game is secured. 

For entrapping rats, take a barrel head a little smaller than the barrel ; across 
the center of the head screw or nail a stick half an inch square, projecting an 
inch each side. Round the parts which project, then cut notches in the top of 
the barrel for these to fall into, so that the head will be suspended in proper 
shape, but touch the staves nowhere. If it is not a perfect balance, add a little 
weight to one side to make it so. Tie cheese to each side, then set an inclined 
plank so that rats can run up to the end of it and jump down upon the balanced 
head to get the bait. Of course Mr. Rat goes into the cavity below, and the 
head swings back into place for the next. 

The Pit Trap for liat§. — With, a post auger bore a hole as deep as 
you can in a cellar bottom or out of doors where rats run. Take away all the 
earth removed, and make the spot have the same appearance as before, as near 



TRAPS AND TRAPPING. 



297 



as possible, and put a ring of corn meal around the hole. If vermin are plenty 
-and hungry, you may be sure of two or three tumbling in, and the fuss they 
will make about it, will be the cause of many more going down. 

HoAV to Make a Bird Trap. — Take two boards six inches wide and 
four feet long, and two more same width and about three feet long. Nail them 
together into a frame. Across the top nail laths or strips of thin board, so that 
there is a space of one inch between them. In the center, on top of the laths, 




CHEAP HOME MADE BIRD TRAP. 

fasten by nailing or screwing two pieces of board, eight inches long, two inches 
wide and half an inch thick. Place them six inches apart, the edges beveled 
under. Cut out space between these boards and fit in a half inch slide board, 
beveled so as to fit the first. This is for an arm hole to take out the birds. 

Set the trap with a figure four. In my boyhood trappings I found it a good 
plan to place the trap so that it would not spring, and allowed the quails to eat 
•grain beneath it until they became familiar with it. On the end of the spindle 
put a very small nubbin of corn. It is not a bad plan to strew straw about the 
trap to attract game. 

HoAV to Make a Snare. — Take a piece of chalk line or clock cord, 
about two feet long. Make a loop at one end that will slip without drawing 
into a knot. Tie the other end to an elastic rod or spring pole, where it has 
grown, or been firmly stuck in the ground ; then at the point where the rod or 
pole will reach the earth when bent over in a half circle, drive both points of a 
crotched stick into the ground to act as a hold for the snare. Near this crotch, 
say three inches away, stick down a five inch circle of sticks, half an inch apart 
and four inches high. Now make a spindle long enough to reach across the 
crotch, and to the center of the circle, then a catch stick like the one on the 
box trap, and fasten to the cord three or four inches from the end of the spring 
pole. Now the snare is ready to set. Holding the pole down with the arm, 
place the baited spindle across the opening of the crotch, slip the catch through 
from opposite side, and place one end of this on the head of the crotch, the 
•other upon the spindle, then loosen up on the spring pole. The catch stick will 



298 



TRAPS AND TRAPPING. 



be pulled tight enough to hold the spindle in place ; now lay the loop end of 
the cord around the circle of sticks, drawn up so it stays just at the tops. The 
rabbit or other game, in getting at the bait, puts its head into the circle, and, of 




IMPLE SMARK TRAP. 



course, through the loop. The moving of the spindle loosens the catch stick, 
up goes the spring pole, taking the rabbit suspended by the neck. Remember, 
the loop end of the cord must not be passed under the crotch — only the catch 
stick. When the ground is frozen, the circle of sticks may be made in a piece 
of board. 

The Slip Noose Snare. — To capture birds that run in flocks upon the 
ground, the rustic fence and slip noose snare works very well. The best place 
to use it is about piles of brush or where the birds are 
known to run. Build a little brush fence, tight enough 
to prevent a bird passing, excepting at certain inter- 
vals, where openings are left by shoving two crooked 
sticks into the ground crossing at top. Tie a small cord 
to the cross, then form a slip noose, as shown in the 
engraving. The string can be caught upon the bark 
of the sticks or upon a sliver made with a knife. 
Grain may be used to lure the birds. Once in the noose, they are fast. 

Tlie Line Snare, — For catching birds alive, the line snare answers a 
good purpose. Stretch a large cord between two stakes, set some distance 
apart, then to this attach short slip-noose strings and strew some sort of grain 




SLIP NOOSE SKARE. 




THE LINE SNARE FOR BIRDS. 



over the spot. When a bevy of birds run over the snare some of them are very- 
likely to get their feet into it and find themselves caught. Horse hair may" 
be used for the slip-nooses when small birds are to be taken. The trap should 



TRAPS AND TRAPPING. 299- 

be watched from some secret spot, so that the game may be relieved as sooa 
as taken, otherwise they may flutter until they get loose or injure themselves. 

To Trap the Fox. — The trap should be set near the haunts of the fox, 
says The Trapper s Guide, and covered with ashes, chaff, or light earth, and it 
should be fastened to a movable clog of six or eight pounds' weight, as directed 
under head of "clog for traps." Wool, moss, leaves, or some other soft sub- 
stance, should be packed lightly under the pan and around the jaws. The sur- 
face of the earth in the neighborhood of the trap should be brushed with a quill 
or bush, so that all will seem natural. 

Scraps or small pieces of fried meat, rolled in honey, should be scattered over 
the bed of the trap, except where the '^an is. Care should be taken to erase all 
footprints. 

Another method practiced by woodmen is to set the trap in a spring that does 
not freeze over in winter, placing it about half an inch under water, and cover- 
ing the space within the jaws with a piece of moss that rises above the water. 
A bait of meat should be placed in such a position that the fox in taking it will 
be likely to put his foot on the moss to prevent wetting it. 

Foxes feed on grouse, small birds, hares, rabbits, squirrels, muskrats, mice,, 
fish, eggs ; and some of them are remarkably fond of grapes, strawberries, and 
other ripe fruits. When pressed with hunger, they accept' reptiles and carrion^ 
Their modes of securing their prey are various. They generally seize their vic- 
tims by creeping stealthily within springing distance, and pouncing on them like 
a cat. 

To Trap the Wolf. — For capturing the wolf by the steel trap, the di- 
rections given in the first method of taking the fox should be followed, except 
that the honey should be left out, and the clog of the trap should be of fifteen 
or twenty pounds' weight. The small prairie wolf, that is so troublesome to 
the Western farmer, can be captured in the same way. Care should always be 
taken to keep at a proper distance when looking after the trap, as the wolf's 
sense of smell is very acute, and enables him to detect the footprints of the 
hunter with great sagacity. 

Trapping' the ^kunk. — In addition to the barrel trap before given, the: 
skunk, when infesting the neighborhood of a chicken coop, may be taken by 
means of the steel trap. Shut the coop so tight that the chickens cannot get. 
out, then set the trap on the ground six or eight inches in front. The skunk is 
not a suspicious animal, and will blunder into the trap when prying around for 
a supper. Generally they will not emit their odor, and if shot through the 
spine before molesting, may be removed without leaving their scent. 

Blowing Up Woodchucks. — In New England, where the ground- 
hog is very troublesome, they have a way of killing the pest by means of a small 
magazine. A good handful of gunpowder is put into a cloth bag, to which a 
fuse is attached. The bag is then put into the woodchuck's hole some two or 



300 TRAPS AND TRAPPING. 

three feet, with the other end of the fuse projecting from the hole, which is then 
filled in and carefully tramped with earth. If the ])urrow has other openings 
these must also be closed. The fuse is then lighted, a dull explosion follows, 
and the animal is never heard from again, being probably unable to breathe the 
air in his narrow house after the burning of the powder. 

Trapping- the ^Wild Cat. — St. John, the author of a work on Highland 
•Sports, gives the following plan for taking it : " Like other vermin, the wild 
-cat haunts the shores of the lakes and rivers, and it is, therefore, easy to know 
where to lay a trap for them. Having caught and killed one of the colony, the 
rest of them are sure to be taken, if the body of their slain relative is left in 
some place not far from their usual hunting ground, and surrounded with traps, 
as every wild cat who passes within a considerable distance of the place will 
surely come to it." For this purpose steel traps should be used. 

The Turkey Trap. — Build a log pen in the woods where wild turkeys 
range, and cover the top of the pen with heavy poles. Then at one side, and 
at the bottom, make an opening sufficiently large to allow a turkey to pass in. 
It will be better to dig into the ground a little, to make the passway. Now 
string shelled corn along, from a little distance away into the pen through the 
opening. The turkey, in picking up the kernels with head down, passes under 
and into the pen. It will never find its way out, as it will make all its attempts 
iipward. 

Baitings Traps. — There is one general principle regarding baiting, says 
The Trapper s Guide, that is always applicable, and that is, never bait a steel 
trap on the pan. The old-fashioned traps were always made with holes in the 
pan for strings to tie on bait ; and many, if not most novices in trapping, imag- 
ine that the true way is to attract the animal's nose straight to the center of 
action, by piling bait on the pan, as though it were expected to catch him by 
the head. The truth, however, is, that animals are very rarely taken by the 
Jhead or the body, but almost always by a leg. 

When an animal pulls at a bait on the pan of a trap, he is not likely even to 
spring the trap, for he lifts in the wrong direction ; and if he does spring it, the 
position of his head is such, especially if the bait is high on the pan, that he is 
pretty sure to give the jaws the slip. Besides, bait on the pan calls the atten- 
tion of the wary animal to the trap ; whereas, he ought to be wholly diverted 
from it, and all signs of it obliterated. 

Bait should always be placed so that the animal in attempting to take it 
shall put a foot on the pan. This can be done in several ways, all of which 
will be explained in detail hereafter. But this general direction may be given 
for all cases that are not otherwise prescribed for : Place the bait either on a 
stick above the trap, or in an inclosure so arranged that the animal will have to 
step over the trap to reach it. 

To Trap the Mink. — Minks can be attracted long distances by a scent 



TRAPS AND TRAPPING. 30! 

that IS prepared from the decomposition Ox eeis, trout, or even minnows. These 
fishes are cut in small pieces, and put into a loosely corked bottle, which is al- 
lowed to hang in the sunshine for two or three weeks in summer, when a sort 
of oil is formed, which emits a ver}' strong odor. A few drops of this oil on the 
bait, or even on a stick without bait, will draw minks very effectually. 

The chain of the trap should be fastened to a spring pole, strong enough to 
lift the animal, when caught, out of the reach of the fisher, fox, and other dep- 
redators ; or if the trap is set near deep water, it may be attached to a sliding- 
pole, which will secure the game by drowning it. 

Where the mink is molesting the chicken coop at night, dig a hole in front of 
the coop sufficiently deep to allow the top of the steel trap to come level with 
the top of the ground. Smoke the trap well before setting it ; then cover the 
trap, chain and all, with grass or leaves, or something that will not excite his 
suspicion, and when he comes that night he will conclude to stay. 

If you wish to trap minks along the creek, set the trap in the edge of shallow 
water, and cover with wet leaves, so that they will remain on it. Then suspend 
a bait two feet above it (the heart or some other part of a fresh chicken or bird),. 
and in his efforts to get the bait he is almost sure to get into the trap. 

Oisinfecting Traps. — After an animal has been caught in a trap, it needs 
disinfecting before using again. This may be done by smoking it, smearing 
with fresh blood, or coating with beeswax. Put on fresh blood and allow it to 
dry, if that article is used. If waxed, melt the substance, and coat all the 
metal. 

Simple Mouse Trap. — A common punch bowl may be quickly made 
into a trap for capturing mice. Take a piece of thin shingle about an inch wide 
and two inches long. From one end to the other, taper to center. That is, cut 
from both edges to a point, so that the stick will be one inch wide at one end 
and pointed at the other. Now bait the point and set the stick up edgewise, the 
bowl resting on the wdde end, and the baited end coming under the bowl. The 
slightest touch at the bait will drop the trap. 

The Mole Trap. — Drive some nails through a heavy board and file them 
sharp. Set the trap with a figure four, so that when it drops the pointed nails 
will fall upon the mole path. The spindle of the figure four should be set close 
down to the trail, so that the little animal in passing under it will spring the trap. 

IIo^v to Trap Insects. — After sunset, place among the fruit trees an 
old barrel, the inside of which has been well tarred. At the bottom of the 
barrel place a lighted lamp. Insects of many kinds, attracted by the light, make 
for the lamp, and while circling around it strike against the sides of the barrel, 
where, meeting with the tar, their wings and legs become so clogged that they 
fall helpless to the bottom. A few cents' worth of tar employed in this way 
will, without any further trouble, be the means of destroying innumerable 
numbers of these insects. 



302 PRESERVING THE SKINS OF ANIMALS. 

PRESERVING THE SKINS OF ANIMALS. 



Damaging^ ^kins. — When a wild fur bearing animal has been captured 
in one of the cold months of the year, the hide should be removed with extreme 
care, for its value will depend in part upon the manner in which it is taken off. 
A cut here and there will, perhaps, render an otherwise valuable skin almost 
worthless. If the animal is allowed to lie too long, the skin will become tainted. 
Visit the trap often. 

How to Take Off a ^kin. — Experienced trappers and fur dealers 
recommend cutting the skin around the hind feet, and then slitting the skin 
down inside the hind legs to the body, joining the two slits between the 
hind legs ; then remove the skin on the tail by pushing up the thumb nail, or a 
thin, flat piece of wood against the bone of the tail, and draw off the skin. 

Now commence to draw the body of the animal through the slit already 
made, without enlarging it, drawing the skin over itself, the fur side within ; 
when the forefeet are reached, cut the skin away from them at the wrists, and 
tfeen skin over the head until the mouth is reached, when the skin should be 
finally removed at the lips. 

Stretching and Drying Skins.— One thing to be borne in mind when 
stretching a skin to dry, is, that it must be drawn tight. Another, that it must 
be stretched in a place where neither the heat of a fire or the sun will reach it, 
and it should not be washed. Large skins may be nailed upon the inside of a 
shed or barn, but small ones are better for being dried upon a board, bow or 
hoop stretcher. 

The Board Stretcher. — This should be made of some thin material. 
The following mode of manufacture is taken from The Trapper s Guide : 

" Prepare a board of bass-wood or other light material, two feet three inches 
long, three inches and a half wide at one end, and two inches and an eighth at 
the other, and three-eighths of an inch thick. Chamfer it from the center to 
the sides almost to an edge. Round and chamfer the small end about an inch 
upon the sides. 

" Split this board through the center with a knife or saw. Finally, prepare a 
wedge of the same length and thickness, one inch wide at the large end, and ta- 
pering to three-eighths of an inch at the small end, to be driven between the 
halves of the board. This is a stretcher suitable for a mink or a marten. 

" Two large sizes, with similar proportions, are required for the larger animals. 

" The largest size, suitable for the full-grown otter or wolf, should be five feet 
and a half long, seven inches wide at the large end when fully spread by the 
wedge, and six inches at the small end. An intermediate size is required for 
the fisher, raccoon, fox and some other animals, the proportions of which can 
be easily figured out. 



PRESERVING THE SKINS OF ANIMALS. 303 

" These stretchers require that the skin of the animal should not be ripped 
through the belly, but should be stripped off whole. Peel the skin from the 
body by drawing it over itself, leaving the fur side inward. In this condition 
the skin should be drawn on to the split board (with the back on one side and 
the belly on the other) to its utmost length, and fastened with tacks or by 
notches cut in the edge of the board, and then the wedge should be driven be- 
tween the two halves. 

" Finally, make all fast by a tack at the root of the tail, and another on the op- 
posite side. The skin is then stretched to its utmost capacity, as a boot leg is 
stretched by the shoemaker's "tree," and it may be hung away in the proper 
place, by a hole in one end of the stretcher, and left to dry. 

"A modification of this kind of stretcher, often used in curing the skins of the 
muskrat and other small animals, is a simple board, without split or wedge, 
three-sixteenths of an inch thick, twenty inches long, six inches wide at the 
large end, and tapering to five and a half inches at six inches from the small 
end, chamfered and rounded as in the other cases. 

" The animal should be skinned as before directed, and the skin drawn tightly 
on to the board, and fastened with about four tacks. Some trappers use wide, 
smooth pine shingles for stretchers. 

The Bow Stretcher , — " The most common way of treating the muskrat 
is to cut off its feet with a hatchet, and rip with a knife from between the two 
teeth in the lower jaw, down the belly, about two inches below where the fore- 
legs come out. Then the skin is started by cutting around the lips, eyes and 
ears, and is stripped over the body, with the fur side inward. 

" Finally, a stick of birch, water-beech, iron wood, hickory or elm, an inch in 
diameter at the butt, and three feet and a half long, is bent into the shape of an 
ox-bow and shoved into the skin, which is drawn tight, and fastened by split- 
ting down a sliver in the bow, and drawing the skin of the lip into it. 

" This method is too common to be easily abolished, and is tolerable when 
circumstances make it necessary ; but the former method of stretching by a 
tapering board, in the case of muskrats as well as other small animals, is much 
the best. 

" Skins treated in that way keep their proper shape, and pack better than those 
stretched on bows, and in the long run boards are more economical than bows, 
as a set of them can be used many times, and v/ill last several years ; whereas 
bows are seldom used more than once, being generally broken in taking out. 

The Hoop Stretcher. — " The skins of large animals, such as the beaver 
and the bear, are best dried by spreading them, at full size, in a hoop. For this 
purpose a stick of hickory or other flexible wood should be cut, long enough to 
entirely surround the skin when bent. (If a single stick long enough is not at 
hand, two smaller ones can be spliced together.) The ends should be brought 
around, lapped and tied with a string or a withe of bark. 



304 PRESERVING THE SKINS OF ANIMALS. 

" The skin should be taken from the animal by ripping from the lower front 
teeth to the vent, and peeling around the lips, eyes and ears, but without rip- 
ping up the legs. 

" It should then be placed inside the hoop and fastened at opposite sides, with, 
twine or bark, till all loose parts are taken up, and the whole stretched so that 
it is nearly round and as tight as a drum head. When it is dry, it may be taken 
from the hoop, and is ready for packing and transportation. 

" This is the proper method of treating the skin of the deer. Some prefer it 
for the wolf and raccoon. In many cases the trapper may take his choice be- 
tween the hoop and the board method. One or the other of these methods 
will be found satisfactory for curing all kinds of skin." 

Tanning Skins for Home Use. — I know of no more cheap and sim- 
ple process than to apply to the flesh side when fresh and wet, a mixture of two- 
parts saltpeter and one part alum. These should be finely pulverized and 
sprinkled over every part of the skin ; double in flesh to flesh, roll up and let it 
lie a day or two ; then with a dull knife remove the meat and fat, if any has 
been left. 

After about half dry, commence rubbing and continue working until dry. 
The skin will be found very nice, white and pliable, and the hair firmly- 
set. 

Another Mode. — Remove the flesh and fat, then wash the skin in a. 
solution made by dissolving a little sal soda in the water. Take four ounces 
pulverized alum, eight ounces salt, one quart new milk to four gallons soft 
water, also one pint prepared starch ; stir well ; put in furs, and air them often, 
by hanging them over a stick laid across your tan tub, so that they will drain 
back in the tub. Handle occasionally, until they have been in the solution a 
day or two, then add to the liquor, first removing the skins, half a teacupful of 
sulphuric acid ; stir well and put back the skins, keeping them stirring pretty 
often for an hour, then take out, wring and rinse in soft, lukewarm water ; 
hang up in a cool place, and, when they begin to get white, work and stretch 
them till they are dry. Hides of large animals should remain in the solution, 
longer. 

Skinning^ Animals for Stuffing. — When it is the intention to stuff the 
skin of an animal, the process of removing the hide is considerably varied.. 
From a foreign periodical, I have obtained some good directions : 

Lay the animal on its back, and plug up its nostrils, mouth and wounds, if 
any, with cotton or tow, to prevent the blood from disfiguring the skin. A lon- 
gitudinal incision is then made in the lower part of the belly, in front of the pel- 
vis or thigh bones, and extended thence to the stomach, or higher if necessary,, 
keeping straight if possible. 

In this operation the hairs must be carefully separated to the "right and k ft 
and as few cut as possible. The sk'n should be turned back to the right and 



PRESERVING THE SKINS OF ANIMALS. 305 

left, putting pads of cotton or tow between it and the muscles, as you proceed 
in skinning. 

If any oily matter should make its appearance on the skin it must be wiped 
away. Now remove the skin in every direction as far as the incision will admit 
of it. Each of the thighs must be separated at its junction with the pelvis, that 
is, by the head or ball of the thigh bone. 

The intestinal canal is next cut across a Httle way above the anus, and the 
tail is separated as close to the animal as possible. After this, the pelvis is 
pulled out of the skin and the skin separated from the back, with the handle of 
the scalpel passed between it and the carcass. 

It is pulled gradually upward until the operator reaches the shoulders. The 
whole hinder parts and trunk of the body being thus out of the skin, the next 
operation is to remove the fore legs, by separating them from the body at the 
shoulder joint. 

When the joint of one shoulder has been separated from the body, the leg is 
again put into the skin, and the animal turned, in order to repeat the same with 
the other side, the limb of which is also returned. The skin is then removed 
from the neck. 

The next thing is to separate the skin from the head. By the assistance of 
the knife, it is taken off as far as the nose ; while great care must be taken not 
to injure the eyelids, and to cut the ears as close to the skull as possible ; and 
also to avoid cutting the lips too close. 

All this having been performed, the head and trunk are separated from the 
skin. The next operation is to remove the head from the trunk at the upper 
bone of the vertebrae or spinal column. The external muscles of the head and 
face are then cut off, and the bones left as free from flesh as possible. 

The occipital bones are next opened with a strovig knife, and the brain all 
carefully removed. The fore legs are now pulled out of the skin, by pulHng the 
legs one way and the skin another, as far as the claws of the foot. All the 
muscles are then cut off the bones, while care is taken not to injure the liga- 
ments and tendons. They should be left adhering to the knee. They are then 
returned into the skin again. 

The hind legs are then treated in Hke manner. The tail is the last part 
skinned, and this is a more difficult task than the other parts of the body. Two 
or three of the first joints of the tail-bone are first laid bare by pulling the skin 
back. They are then tied with a strong cord, which must be attached to a 
strong nail or hook on the wall. 

A split stick is then put on the tail-bone and forced to the extremity, and the 
tail-bones come out of their enveloping skin. The skeleton head having been 
divested of all its fleshy matter, tongue, palate, external muscles, and brain, is 
now returned to its place in the skin, which is in a condition for commencing 
the operation of stuffing. 



3o6 PRESERVING THE SKINS OF ANIMALS. 

I^tufflng Animals. — After the hide has been properly fitted, stuff with 
hemp, flax, hair, or any soft material that will pack closely. Short grass, called 
rowen, cut and thoroughly dried, will do for large animals. The lint made by 
scraping a hemp rope with a knife will provide excellent material for small 
animals. Begin stuffing at the extremes, and crowd in until each part assumes 
a natural shape. The eyes will have to be purchased. They may be held in 
place by putty crowded into the socket of the skull. 

^kmiiiiig- J^arge Animals. — A worker in a tannery says most of the 
hides that come to his establishment show awkwardness in the style of removal. 
To do it right, abandon the old method of cutting down the inside of the leg, 
he says, and proceed as follows : Place the dead animal on its back, then the 
operator, by thrusting his knife point foremost and edge up, makes a slit the 
entire length of the carcass, from the chin over the center of the breast, in tlie 
line of the navel to the tail. Let him now stand by its side, with his face look- 
ing the way the head lies, and taking the forefoot in his left hand, run the point 
of his knife in the line of the cleft of the foot and cap of the knee, up the front 
of the leg and into the central slit of the bosom. 

For the hind leg, having reversed his position, let the sht be made in the line 
of the heel, over the center of the cap of the hock, down the back of the ham, 
into the central slit. In this way the hide when spread out will have a square 
form without long projections, and consequent deep indentations of its outline. 

Tanning- Skins for Laslies. — The most simple and economical method 
is the alum tanning. First rid the skin of all fat and flesh, then bury it well 
spread out in wet ashes or soft soap, until the hair starts readily, which will be 
in a day or two. Remove all of the hair, soak and wash thoroughly, then put 
it into the tanning solution, which may be made by dissolving a good, large 
handful of pulverized alum, and one or two handfuls of common salt in three or 
four quarts of water. Leave in the solution for twelve to fifteen days, rinse 
thoroughly and pull, rub and stretch while drying. The leather will be very 
soft. Skins tanned in this way make good whip lashes, and flail and other 
strings so long as kept dry. There is no process for making leather equal to 
that of the regular bark tanning mode, and all large hides or skins should be 
thus treated. 

Tanning- Suekskin.^ — Buckskin is tanned by the Indians, by use of ani- 
mals' brains. After removing the hair the skin is immersed in brains and water, 
heated to about one hundred degrees, and whipped into a lather. 

The Trader says that in order to ascertain when the skin is properly " brained," 
it is gathered up into the form of a sack and inflated ; then by closing the ori- 
fice, and pressing upon the sack, the inclosed air will be caused to pass out 
through innumerable pores, making a spray from the particles of contained 
water. 

Wring out all the water possible, and stretch and rub vigorously while dry- 



PRESERVING THE SKINS OF ANIMALS. 307 

ing, when it will become white and soft. If the skin be now wetted and suf- 
fered to dry without manipulation, it becomes hard again like a raw hide. 
Smoking is a means of obviating this. 

The object is to make the smoke pass through the pores of the skin. The 
effect of the braining seems to be to comminute the gelatine, but it does not 
affect its solubility. 

The smoke seems to form a chemical combination with it, rendering it insolu- 
ble. A hole is dug in the ground about two feet and six inches in diameter. 
Some coals are thrown in and a little wood upon them. The skins — better two 
together — are loosely sewed along the edges, except one, which is stretched 
around the hole, and the skins are then suspended above it, much like an empty 
sack, with the mouth downward. The smoke in its ascent fills the sack and 
passes through or penetrates its substance. 

The process is kept up till the operator deems the skin sufficiently smoked. 
Now if they are wetted they dry soft without manipulation. There is still 
another operation which improves them, though not necessary. It is a species of 
tanning. Willow bark, or that of the sassafras, is good, as it does not stain 
clothing when the skin is wet, as it would if tanned with the ooze of oak. 

Boil a small quantity of bark and dip the skins into the ooze for a few min- 
utes ; wring them as dry as possible, and the operation is finished. Treated in 
this way, the skins have a wiry texture. In its original state a skin of ordinary 
size is easily torn into strips. 

When dressed, the fibers, being loose, come gradually into parallelism, and 
the tension is resisted by many at once. Previously held to its place by the 
gelatine, each fiber, acting singly, was readily broken. 

Sometimes the smoking is done by setting sticks up around the hole, the 
ends coming together over the center of the pit. The skin is laid over this 
frame work, and thoroughly smoked for an hour or two, then rubbed with gyp- 
sum or chalk, then whipped and stretched. 

Tanning Mole Skins. — Take the hide and draw it over a medium sized 
corn cob, and place it in the sun. Then apply sweet oil to it once every twenty- 
four hours to prevent the hide from getting dry. After giving the hide about 
five applications of this oil, take a little fine alum and rub the hide with it thor- 
oughly. By this time the skin is perfectly tanned. 

Tanning Sheep Skins, ^Vool On. — Sheep skins may be nicely tanned 
with wool on, to be used for carriage or door mats, by a process very similar 
to that of tanning furs. First, wash the pelt in warm soap suds until the wool 
is thoroughly cleansed, rinse well and soak for one day in a solution of alum 
and salt, equal parts in water, say eight ounces of each in sufficient warm water 
to cover the pelt. Drain well, stretch on a board and when half dried sprinkle 
the flesh side with equal parts of finely pulverized alum and saltpeter ; fold to- 
gether and let it so remain, in doors, for a few days, turning the pelt over once or 



308 SKINNING AND STUFFING BIRDS. 

twice a day, so as to get the solution equally upon each part. When well dried, 
dress off and rub well with pumice stone, which will render the hide very soft 
and white. Trim the edges to please the taste. 

Tanning' Skins for Furs. — Take soft water about ten gallons, one-half 
bushel wheat bran, seven pounds sulphuric acid. Dissolve all together and put 
the skins in the solution, and allow them to remain twelve hours ; take them 
out and clean them well, and again immerse twelve hours, or longer, if neces- 
sary. The skins may then be taken out, well washed and dried. They can be 
beaten soft, if desired. 

Preserving IStuflTed Animals. — Rub the flesh side of the skin with a 
composition of one pound of tobacco ashes, one half pound of alum, two pounds 
of dry slaked lime. 



SKINNING AND STUFFING BIRDS. 



Preparing a Bird for Skinning. — In this connection, I cannot do 
better than to give the simple and very effectual method of W. B. Tegetmeier: 

The bird whose skin is to be preserved should, if the season and climate 
permit, be allowed to become cold, as it is then more easily handled, being 
rigid, and the blood is less liable to soil the plumage. 

The first thing to be done is to plug up the throat and nostrils with cotton 
wool, to prevent the escape of mucous or any fluid during the turning of the 
bird in skinning. This should be done carefully, a lock of cotton being thrust 
quite through the nostrils with a pair of sharp dissecting forceps or some other 
blunt pointed instrument. 

If the eyeballs are broken, they should be plugged also ; and, even if that is 
not the case, it is desirable to wipe the eyes out carefully under the lids, to 
prevent any adhesive moisture soiling the feathers. This is most conveniently 
done by a lock of cotton wool held by the forceps. Every shot hole must be 
plugged to prevent the escape of blood. 

How to Skin a Bird. — The specimen is now to be placed on the back 
with the head turned toward the operator. The wings are to spread out flatly 
on the table, and the first bone of the wing on each side (the humerus) broken 
by a blow from the small end of the hammer, or by pressure with a pair of 
strong pincers. This should be done without wounding the skin or injuring the 
plumage. The feathers on the breast are next to be separated, so as to expose 
the skin along the keel of the sternum from the chest to the vent. 

Thrusting the sharp point of a pair of scissors under the skin at the front of 
the breast bone, an incision is made along the middle line right down to the 
vent. No advantage — but, on the other hand, considerable inconvenience — 



SKINNING AND STUFFING BIRDS. 309 

arises from making it too short. The fingers should now be introduced, and 
allowed to play around the body, separating as far as possible the skin from 
the chest, back and sides, and freeing the bases of the wings and thighs. 

If the flesh of the bird is intended for food, which may often be a necessity 
with a wandering naturalist, soft folded paper should be introduced under the 
skin as it is loosened, to prevent it adhering to the flesh from which it has been 
separated, and to save the feathers from contact with the moisture of the body. 
Should the flesh not be required for food, the employment of some dry ab- 
sorbent powder is more convenient than the use of paper. One of the best 
powders for this purpose is dry, fine mahogany sawdust ; but the fine sawdust 
of any hard wood may be used, or plaster of Paris may be employed ; but the 
use of flour, or any material that becomes adhesive when moist, must be 
avoided. 

The next stage is to raise the bird up on the vent, the tail and back being turned 
toward the operator ; in this position the skin is loosened and thrust away 
from around the roots of the wings and the base of the neck, which are thus 
isolated. The neck is then separated by cutting through it with a strong pair 
of scissors at a few joints from the body, and the wings are cut off where the 
bones had been previously broken. 

The upper part of the body is now free, and the skin should be pushed back 
along the sacrum, thighs and legs toward the tail. This process should be 
carefully performed, for if the skin be pulled instead of pushed off, it is stretched 
to so great an extent that its value is greatly lessened, and it is also liable to be 
torn. 

In removing the flesh from the legs one of two methods may be followed — 
the tendons close to the top of the shank (tarsus) may be cut across with scis- 
sors, and by then running the blade up the bones of the leg (tibia and fibula) 
the flesh may be pushed up in one piece, so as to leave the bones quite clear, 
when they may be cut off immediately below the knee ; or, if preferred, the 
bones may be cut across below the knee, thrust out through the flesh, which 
may then be separated from the bones, working downward toward the 
shank. 

All that now remains to be done is to skin round the root of the tail, remov- 
ing as much of the soft parts as possible, and finally the skin is entirely separa- 
ted from the body by cutting around the vent. 

We have now to turn our attention to the head and wings. The skull and 
dipper part of the neck is to be thrust back through the loosened skin of the 
neck. On arriving at the ears some care is requisite, for if the orifice in the 
skin be cut and enlarged much disfigurement results. In removing the skin 
from this part of the skull the edge of the knife should be turned toward the 
bone, and the skin, as it were, dug out of the ear hole. 

In the same manner care must be taken not to enlarge the opening of the 



3IQ SKINNING AND STUFFING BIRDS. 

eyelids, nor to pierce the eyeball in skinning over it. Having skinned forward 
to the gape or angle of the mouth, the back part of the skull should now be cut 
away, the neck bones and tongue removed together, and the brain scooped out. 

The knife should now be passed around the eyeballs, so as to loosen their at- 
tachments, when they may be scooped out with the handle of the scalpel ; and 
by the cutting away of the palate and fleshy parts of the head with a pair of 
scissors, that part of the animal is finished. 

In the case of ducks, flamingoes and other birds with large heads and long, 
slender necks, it is impossible to pass the head backward through the neck. In 
these cases a cut should be made along under the side of the neck, near the 
head, which should be passed through the opening and cleaned from the flesh 
as before described. 

The wings still require attention. Turning the skin on the back, with the 
under side of the wings upward, an incision should be made along the fleshy 
part of the joint (along the ulna and radius). The flesh should be carefully 
dissected away from these two bones, but the secondary quills should on no 
account be loosened from their firm attachment to the bone ; if this is done, the 
regularity of their arrangement can never be restored, and, as they form the 
most prominent part of the folded wing, the beauty of the specimen is irrepara- 
bly injured. The skin, being now entirely removed from the soft parts, may be 
trimmed up, and any adhering portions of flesh removed from the bones, etc.„ 
which should be dressed with any preservative that may be used. 

Cotton wool should be placed in the orbits, and the skin dressed carefully 
on all parts of the inside. The head should then be returned to its proper posi- 
tion, by carefully pushing it down the inverted skin of the neck. It is desira- 
ble to place a stitch across the back, so as to loop up the loose skin and pre- 
vent the wings falling too far asunder. This is done by taking a stitch in the 
skin at the base of each wing (inside the skin), drawing the parts somewhat to- 
gether, and tying the threads. 

Uo^v to Stuff a Bird Skiu. — All that remains now is to fill out the 
specimen with cotton, wool or tow, to prevent the skin shriveling as it dries. 
The neck is most easily filled by a pair of long tongs, with scissor-like handles ; 
these may be bought ready made, but a pair of common goffering tongs, if flat- 
tened at the tips, answers every purpose for birds of moderate or even for quite 
large size. 

After wrapping a little wool round the bones of the legs and filling out the 
skin, it should be loosely pinned up in paper until dry and set, any accidental 
cut or large wound being previously sewn up from the inside. 

The setting of the skin takes some days in the case of a large bird, during 
which time it should be looked at at intervals, so as to prevent any of the feath- 
ers drying in a deranged position, which would entail much trouble when the 
skin came to be permanently mounted. 



SKINNING AND STUFFING BIRDS. 3II 

To Mount a Stuffed Bird. — If it be a dried skin it must be steamed 
on the flesh side till flexible, taking care not to wet the plumage. Then form the 
body of tow, tied into shape by thread. 

Double a piece of fine wire and twist the doubled part of it to a length 
sufficient for the neck, and passing the two ends on each side of the body, twist 
them firmly together just under where the tail will come, and leave their ends 
projecting to support the tail. 

Fill the skull with putty, and lap tow round the twisted wire to form the neck, 
also round bones of legs and wings to replace the flesh removed. Put the tow 
body into the skin, sticking the end of the twisted wire into the putty to support 
the head, and if all seems right, sew up the skin. Then run pointed wires up 
the hollow part of the bones of the legs and through the body, clinching them 
in the tow on the other side. Then set up the bird, putting it in the desired 
attitude, and supporting the wings by pins or wires till the skin dries, when 
they may be removed ; stick the eyes into the putty. Put the wings and feathers 
into shape, and then bind the bird with thread and keep it so two weeks. 

Preserving Bird Skins. — To preserve the skins, dress with two parts 
powdered arsenic, one burnt alum, and one cayenne pepper ; or use a pound of 
yellow soap mixed with one ounce each of lime, alum and camphor gum. The 
soap will give a permanent elasticity to the skin, and enable it to be set up at 
any future time. 

A different compoumi for preserving the skins, is given by another profes- 
sional taxidermist, which is as follows : Dissolve ten ounces best white soap in 
warm water. To this, add one ounce of potash, and then thicken with pipe 
clay and lime mixed. Heat thoroughly, and when cooling, add ten ounces of 
arsenic. By keeping the proportions, any quantity of the compound may be 
prepared. 

It is not advisable for a boy to attempt to make the mixture, for any druggist 
will do it if given the formula. The mixture should be used with care, and the 
vessel holding it labeled " poison." 

Killing* Birds for Stuffing-. — In killing birds to be stuffed and mounted, 
care should be taken to mangle to the least possible degree. For small birds, 
the line snare shown on page 298 may be used in some instances. In no case 
should the rifle be used, unless it is to secure ver)^ large specimens of extremely 
shy birds — those that will keep out of the reach of shot. Commonly, very fine 
shot should be employed, and the fewer in number of these that bring down the 
game, the better. Birds of the partridge family may be captured by traps, but 
tree nesting birds will require a gun. 



The Mechanical Farmer. 



Farmers in general have not yet fully awakened to the importance of a more 
liberal use of mechanical tools at home. Every farmer brings them into use 
more or less, but not one-half of the land tillers use the saw, plane and hammer 
one-tenth part of what might be made profitable. 

The chief hindrance to mechanical employment upon the farm, I believe to 
be attributable to the neglect of obtaining aids, or in other words, of procuring 
tools ; but few farmers have even a decent saw or hammer upon their premises, 
and it is very seldom that we find what might be called a good set of bench 
tools, and in many neighborhoods it would be difficult to make up a set by 
bringing the entire lot together. 

The husbandman who depends upon borrowing is always in trouble, besides 
which, the time spent in going for and returning tools, with the money spent in 
replacing damaged ones, would amount in a single year to enough to procure 
a tolerably good set at least. 

It is just as essential that the farmer should understand the principles of 
mechanism as it is that he should be posted in the principles of stock raising 
and grain growing, or any other department intimately connected with his 
avocation. He should know when his mowing machine, hay rake, plow, or 
other implements are not properly adjusted, and be able to apply the remedy, 
and to be well enough posted to prevent being cheated when purchasing these 
utensils. 

Every husbandman should fit up a workshop either in his house or barn, if 
not able to build a place for the purpose, and get a kit for the bench just as 
soon as his circumstances will admit of it ; then a tool will be at hand when 
wanted, and nearly all the repairs upon farm implements and buildings may be 
done without going to the expense of employing a professional mechanic. 

There are horse rakes, hay and wood racks, sleds, wagon boxes, harrows, 
field rollers, etc., which may be kept in good order at the home workshop, and 
innumerable improvements made around the farm buildings. 

There are feeding racks to make, grain troughs to construct, barn doors to 
fix up by rehanging or relatching, stanchions to build or improve, weather 
boarding to be put on, and roofs to mend, besides scores of little necessaries 
which may be provided at the house for the convenience of the women folks. 
Every housewife who has a husband or son familiar with the use of mechanical 
tools will give her testimony in favor of the farm workshop. 



THE MECHANICAL FARMER. 313 

Any man, of even ordinary ability, will be surprised, after a few few years of 
handling tools, to find how much he is capable of doing. If he is a man in the 
habit of doing his work well, he will also have the satisfaction of knowing that 
he has saved himself a round bill at the village shop ; one which many farmers 
often^find it very hard to pay, and which is many times unjustly large. 

A man cannot be called shrewd who goes one or two miles to have a new 
whippletree made, when he could work it out himself in the time he was going 
to the shop, to say nothing of having to pay for it besides. 

There is nothing more provoking, when work is pressing, than to find imple- 
ments out of order. A day's delay at planting time, going away lor repairs, will 
sometimes be of greater damage to the farmer than the expense of a new plow. 

Care of Iinplcineiit§ and Tools, — Do not hang the scythe up in the 
barn, shed, or any other place, attached to the snath, for many accidents occur 
every season to children or animals, knocking them down. Separated, they are 
much easier stored and much less dangerous. 

Wagons, racks, forks, rakes, etc., should all be in good order before the hay- 
ing is begun. As soon as grass gets into the proper condition, it should be 
gathered in just as early as possible, for when allowed to ripen before cutting a 
great portion of the nutriment is lost. 

Any delays made to repair harvesting tools not only subjects the farmer to 
loss of money by hindering the field hands, but subjects him to loss by prolong- 
ing the time of garnering his crops. If any part of the wagon is weak, or any 
of the small tools out of order, thoroughly repair them before going into the 
meadow to work. 

I do not advocate the too common theory that if a farmer prospers he must 
be a drudge, and the earnest appeal here made to fit up a workshop, is not for 
the purpose of providing a way to labor every hour of the week, but as a matter 
of convenience and profit. A thorough-going man does not like to be idle, nor 
yet does he prefer anything that pertains to servitude. It is free, voluntary ac- 
tion in any pursuit that makes men contented, and industry and economy that 
makes them wealthy. 

The farmer who leaves his mower in the field, or backs it under a shed 
where it can be reached by driving storms, will have to buy a new one twice as 
often as a careful manager, incurring heavy expenses, when but a few hours' 
time at most is required to fit up and put it away in a proper manner. 

A coating of three parts lard and one part resin, appUed to farm tools of iron 
or steel, will effectually prevent rust. This or some other preparation should 
be applied to iron or steel implements when they are put away. See that they 
are dry and wiped clean before oiling. 

The irons upon machinery where there has been friction are bright, and the 
grease upon them is soft, which can be easily removed. Wipe the journals 
and boxes clean with a cloth moistened in spirits of turpentine or coal oil, and 



314 THE MECHANICAL FARMER. 

then rub them over with an oiled rag. Take off the cutter-bar, wipe clean and 
oil the sections and guards, then put them safely away where they will be free 
from exposure to moisture, for if they are allowed to get rusty, they will never 
work as nicely as before. 

If the machine needs painting, give it a coat or two before it is laid up for the 
season. No color that can be obtained at a moderate expense is nicer for this 
purpose than American vermilion. 

Lay Up the Pieces. — Any farmer who does not practice saving pieces 
would be surprised at the real profit derived by laying up the odds and ends 
about his premises. Every day, almost, there are bits thrown away, at the time 
considered of no value, which, perhaps not many days subsequent, would save 
both time and money. 

How many times a year does a farmer want a strip of board, a piece of hick- 
ory timber, something for a hammer handle or rake tooth, which cannot be 
obtained without spoiling valuable material, or going to some carpenter shop ? 
and perhaps while this delay is made, a team and hired man are standing still 
waiting for a broken tool to be put in order. 

But very little time would be required while working at the wood pile to sort 
out and split into proper shape bits of tough timber and lay them up in some 
out of the way corner, and also to throw up small pieces of boards, such as are 
usually used for making kindling wood. 

A strip of board not more than two inches wide may be wanted some time in 
a hurry, for a cleat upon a wagon box, or some other size for another purpose, 
and the saw has to be applied to the whole board to obtain it. 

The repairs upon buildings, making board fences, splitting stakes or stove 
wood, always makes pieces in just about the shape that will be wanted at some 
future time, and they should never be wasted. These fragments possess of 
themselves no real value at the time of laying them away, but their worth is in 
supplying a want, and saving hindrance and perplexity in a busy time. 

It is just as essential to save pieces of leather, scraps of iron, screws, nails, 
bolts, hinges, wire, buckles, rings and rivets. Any amount of this material is 
cast away annually, or sold for one cent per pound, when, if saved, would have 
been worth dollars, perhaps. 

By this I do not intend to advocate that when a breakage occurs upon any 
farm implement, that patching up will answer for permanent repairs, for all 
tools should be kept in the best of order, but there are times when plowing^ 
harrowing, or at some other work, that the harness or some implement will give 
out, and by the aid of wire, leather, nails, buckle or a piece of tough timber, the 
breach may be quickly repaired, and with sufficient strength to last until the 
hurry is over and time can be spared to take the implement to a workshop. 

A stitching awl and a few waxed ends kept on hand will often save a hun- 
dred times their cost. 



FARM RESIDENCES. 3^S 

FARM RESIDENCES. 



Selecting^ a Farm Hou§e. — When purchasing a farm, the residence- 
upon it, if not to be replaced by another, should be an important consideration. 
The building should not be over large, nor should it be contracted in its apart- 
ment room. If possible obtain one with a good hall, the principal room open- 
ing from it ; rooms interfering with others are a great annoyance to house- 
keepers, as it is impossible to keep a room tidy when used as a thoroughfare by- 
members of the family, without frequent use of broom and duster, which is a 
constant wear on carpet and patience. 

The dining room ought to open either out of the kitchen or be separated by a. 
hall ; each should have a closet opening from it, and the kitchen have a pas- 
sage to the cellar and an outside door. 

The parlor is most pleasant facing the south, and should be independent of 
the rest of the house. The nursery is the most convenient on the principal 
floor. Small bedrooms are preferable with closets to large ones without. Spring 
or well and rain water should be near the kitchen. Furniture which appears^ 
well in small rooms, would hardly be called respectable in large ones. Simple 
plans for building will be found on page 39. 

Designing' a Farm House. — Seldom is it that a house is so perfectly 
built by any man but that great changes and improvements could be made 
afterward, but to make the desired alterations in the construction of a building 
is by no means an easy matter, and it is, therefore, very important, when laying 
plans for a house, to study closely by diagram different designs, and to visit 
and to closely examine such buildings within reach as are the nearest perfect 
in arrangement. 

People differ, of course, in their tastes, and what would satisfy one would not 
do at all for another ; so when building a home, the counsel of no outsider 
should be entirely followed, but the family to occupy the house should arrange 
those things which they alone are to enjoy. 

I am aware that a wrong system of rural architecture has prevailed quite too 
long in almost every section of the country. Great, overgrown, two-story farm 
houses are scattered far and near, and the reason there has been adopted no 
higher system of architecture, is simply because one man copies too much after 
another. To-day, we see hundreds of houses with exteriors, and no doubt in- 
teriors, in exact imitation of the "old New England home." The structures 
already made are, many of them, expensive, and will probably stand as they are. 
until they fall into decay by the slow hand of time. 

Farm House Cellar. — When building a farm residence, by all means- 
have a good cellar. If one is not provided, it will always be regretted. Where 
the location is such that it will admit of it, have the cellar below ground, and 



3l6 FARM RESIDENCES. 

the proper place is under the kitchen. Build up strong frost and rat proof 
walls, with windows so constructed that ventilation may be given at will. If 
economy is sought when building, rather let the chambers for the present go 
unfinished than give up making a cellar. 

Stoop or Piazza. — No one can more fully enjoy a shady resting place 
at the house in the summer than the farmer. The expense of a stoop or piazza 
is not great, and the comfort to be derived is highly remunerative. 

Oood Water Storage, — It is very strange that so many farmers who 
liave comfortable dwellings, and ample conveniences for carrying on farm work, 
should neglect to build cisterns, and depend upon barrels, tubs, etc., for saving 
rain water. 

While you have hands in your employ for excavating, and masons to build 
walls, attend to the cistern. This by no means should be neglected, for it may 
be built at about one-half the expense now that will be required when prepar- 
ing expressly for it. Build the cistern large, to hold not less than forty barrels, 
and have it situated so that it may be easily reached from the kitchen by means 
of a pump. 

If there is any one convenience provided for the housewife which awakens in 
3ier a sense of pride more than another, it is a cistern full of nice, soft water. 
A good housekeeper loves cleanliness ; in this she prides herself, and is sadly 
disappointed and irritated if she is deprived of the important requisite. I believe 
there is more vieing going on connected with the appearance of " Monday's 
washing" than in any other department of domestic employment. 

A good location for a cistern is back of the side wing ; water is then conven- 
ient to the kitchen stoop, where washing in summer may be done. 

Foundations for Farm Houses. — There is no practice more repre- 
hensible than that of erecting new work on old, and yet this is constantly done. 
It cannot but be evident to every thinking mind that the old wall which was 
■originally erected on a foundation suitable to its weight, would not be capable 
of sustaining an extra burden, such as a new addition would impose upon it ; 
and that the old foundations must necessarily prove quite inadequate to the 
task and give way under the new pressure, so much greater than that for which 
they were originally constructed. 

Economy is the cause of this, as of other injurious practices in building. A 
desire to stretch one's means leads to trusting a poor foundation ; and the same 
desire induces those who erect additional superstructure to trust still more on 
that foundation. Hence we have settlements which destroy the level of our doors 
and windows, crack our ceilings, and split our walls. 

These evidences of dilapidation are covered up most carefully. The windows 
and door frames are renewed or reset, the ceilings are tastefully papered over, 
and the walls tucked and pointed, and most probably the whole of the brick 
front, if the house is brick, is painted and penciled in imitation courses, to give 



HOUSES OF PLANK. 317 

appearance of a perfect wall. All these things are done to deceive others into- 
security, and induce them to purchase and trust their lives and property in a 
most treacherous trap. 

The foundation is at the bottom of everjrthing. If it is not a good one, it 
must receive the first and best attention. If you wish a good cellar, the foun- 
dation must be of stone, and built up in the shape of a wall, inclosing the cel- 
lar. The excavation must be made below the reach of frost, and if good, solid 
earth is reached, the walls may be started from that. 

Bedroom I>oor$ and Windo^ws. — Generally, when building a new 
house, the doors and windows are put into the bedrooms after a set m.echani- 
cal plan, and four times out of five, when the bed is placed in the room, it isv 
found that there is no good location for it. It either has to head up against a 
window, crosses a door, or located so that access to the closet is made incon- 
venient. 

When laying out these most important rooms, first provide for the bed, and 
make all else conform to that. The relative position of bed and window should 
be such that in ventilating, a current of air w^ll not cross the sleeper. As one- 
third of the whole human life is spent in the bedroom, this apartment should 
receive careful consideration. 



HOUSES OF PLANK. 



Plank. "Wall Cottages. — Very cheap and durable cottages may be 

made of planks, where timber is abundant and a saw mill handy. The Manu- 
facturer and Builder says they are the strongest, most easy of construction, 
and most weather tight walls that can be built. 

The planks are sawed any thickness, the best thickness being about two 
inches, and the widths three and a half and four, laid one upon another, flat 
sides down, each alternate plank a narrow one. Every other plank to project 
on the inside, and all to be flush on the outside. Thus the projecting courses 
on the inside will serve to hold the plastering, and the expense of lathing will 
be saved. 

Constructing Plank. Walls. — The work of construction is so very 
simple that any man, with a boy's help, can put up a neat, tidy, comfortable 
shell of a small cottage in a very short time. The plank, say two inches thick, 
can be handled with the greatest ease, being comparatively light. At the quoins 
or corners, they must lap each other at every second course, and these quoins 
m.ust be well secured together with two iron spikes, previously dipped in lin- 
seed oil. 

At every fourth course of plank, inch auger holes are to be made, at, say. 



31 S HOUSES OF PLANK. 

three feet distant from each other, all around the walls, and into these holes 
oak pins are to be driven ; and this operation must be performed so as to break 
joint all the way up. Where doors and windows occur, the frames will be in- 
serted and the plank cut in accordance. 

Plarilk Wall Partitions. — Partition walls can be made up in the same 
manner, using only the three inch planks, and projecting them alternately on 
«ach side, thus presenting the two surfaces prepared to receive the plastering. 
It would be advisable to let the planks of partitions into the main walls occa- 
sionally, so as to lock the work well and make all permanent. 

These walls and partitions, it will be observed, offer no chance for rats or 
mice to establish themselves. Three good coats of economic paint, properly 
sanded, will give to the outside a very neat appearance ; and as the plank are 
laid on their sides, there is nothing to be dreaded from shrinkage. 

Material for Plank Walls. — In the construction of such cottage walls, 
caution the constructor against using any plank that is sappy, or which has any 
symptom whatever of unsoundness ; as, when once set in the walls and driven 
tightly home, it will speedily generate rot, and infect the whole locality. 

It would be well if while the builder is collecting the various other materials 
and preparing his foundation, the plank to be used in the wall were set out in 
the air, and a space left between each two planks to permit of the free action of 
the seasoning influence of the atmosphere. 

No timbers are requisite in this mode of construction, as the tightly pinned 
together courses of plank are equivalent in themselves to solid timber. 

Outside Finish of Plank Walls, — If the outer edges of the plank 
wall are planed, paint may be applied as a finish ; or the wall may be painted 
red, and striped to represent brick. Where two inch planks are used, a very 
good effect may be produced in this way. The striping should be over the 
cracks, and may be either white or black. 

If one prefers, the wall may be clapboarded. This is really the only com- 
plete finish that can be given. By setting the window casings out on the sur- 
face, the building may be clapboarded any time after erection. 

liocation of Farm Suilding-s. — The first point to be considered in 
making permanent buildings for the farmer is location. They should be such 
as will be most accessible from every part of the premises. Much time and 
labor may be saved each day to the husbandman who chooses sites for his 
buildings with particular reference to the shape of his farm. 

The location of a large stock barn should be chosen with particular reference 
to convenience, and not to accommodate particular fields, for fences may be 
moved easier than buildings. Never locate a barn " up in the meadow," so 
that an open field or long lane has to be passed through to reach it from the 
house, for it makes many miles of travel in the course of a year, and in some 
parts of the season, travel most disagreeable. 



FARM BARNS AND STABLES. 3I9 

It is not uncommon to see a barn located twenty or thirty rods from the 
dwelling, with meadow upon all sides, save where the lane runs out to the 
pasture from the milking yard. The milk of the dairy, be it more or less, has 
to be carried night and morning this long distance through a path in the mowing 
lot, and in the summer time the gowns of the milkmaid get as wet from the 
dew upon the grass as if thrown into a mill pond. 

The horses when coming in from the day's labor, either upon the farm or 
public highway, have to be taken up to the " big barn " to be turned out. The 
wood from the forest has to come by way of the lane, and then through the 
meadow to reach the house. 

So it will be seen that farm buildings thus located are constant work pro- 
ducers, and the first thing I should advise farmers to do, when weather and 
time will permit, who have buildings located inconveniently, is to proceed to 
move them. 

Bring all of the stock barns together and within reasonable distance of the 
dwelling, and so arrange them that all open into one yard. Then so plan 
your fields as to make them accessible, without having to go through a meadow 
or upon the highway. 

Those who have been accustomed to put up with inconveniences all of their 
lives, do not realize the value there is in a well-ordered homestead, and how a 
simple and cheap rearrangement would add to both their wealth and comfort. 

Now, while the subject is before you, look over your premises and see what 
may be done to benefit, and proceed to do it. The work will never be re- 
gretted. 



FARM BARNS AND STABLES. 



Size of Farm Barns. — The size that a barn should be built depends 
upon the magnitude of the farm, and the probable amount it will be required 
to store. The fact should ever be kept in mind, that it is much better to have a 
barn too large than too small. It adds but very little to the expense, to ex- 
tend the posts up a foot or two, or to make the structure a few feet wider and 
larger than first calculated upon. Before building, one should visit the best 
farms in his vicinity, and examine the most approved plans. 

I shall give in this volume but one diagram for the construction of a farm 
barn, for the plans and devices are so varied that it would make a large book of 
itself to give them all or even the so-called approved plans. 

A correspondent and a first-class agriculturist has furnished the following, 
which he claims has given entire satisfaction : 



320 



FARM BARNS AND STABLES. 



A, on common floor, represents grain mows or stables ; B, granaries ; C, pass 
way ; D, mows for hay ; E, barn floor. Between D D, at the ends of the barn 
floor, an embankment is built ten by eighteen feet on one side, and eighteen by 
forty on the other. Arched walls are used under the embankment for an ice 
house, root cellar, etc. ^ 

A, on basement floor, represents pass ways ; B, horse stables ; C, cribs or 
granaries ; D, close shed ; E, cow stables ; F, open shed. \ 





A 





A 






15X30 


8X46 








B 


B 


B 


3 


















1 

D 


20X46 


D 


lexzz 






E 


D-— 




D 





6X32 , 

16X82 






UX38 
D 




6X28— 
E Z 


A 8X32 


— 


6/20 _ _ 
^ _20X20__ 


H L 


F 
\QXeA 



COMMON FLOOR OF BARN 



BASEMENT OF BARN. 



In the center of the horse stable there is a double stall, and a door from this 
into the passage way, A. The shed, D, is closed up at ends by large doors. E 
may be used for either cow or horse stable as desired. 

The barn may be built without the basement stables at much less expense. 

Construction of Barns. — Very good proportions for a common barn 
are twenty-four by thirty-six, thirty by forty, or thirty-four by forty-six. If one 
wishes to avoid the big beam, he can allow the purlin posts to extend up to the 
purlin plates, then have beams from the purlin posts to the plates. If these are 
of strong timber, well braced, there will be no danger of the barn spreading, 
and especially if the rafters are pinned at the lower ends to the plate, in the 
center to the purlin plates, and at the top to the ridge pole. There can be a 
small beam between the purlin posts just at their union with the purlin plates. 

Barn Door Fastening's. — There have been scores of devices for fasten- 
ing barn doors, but the old staple and hook and wooden latch still remain in 



FARM BARNS AND STABLES. 



321 



use. One simple device is given here, which may be made of hard wood by 
any one. 




SIMPLE WOODEN DOOR FASTENER. 



A represents a lever, to which are attached the arms or bolts, B and C, by a 
pin joint at D and E. The lever, A, works upon the pin, F, which is secured to 
the door. H and I are two guides or staples, attached to the door for the pur- 
pose of keeping the arms in place, as they move up and down by the action of 
the lever. It will be observed that by moving the handle of the lever up or 
down, the arms B and C will move correspondingly, so as to cause the arms to 
enter or be withdrawn from the staples, or holes for the arms above and below 
as the case may be, in fastening or unfastening the door. 

Another fastening which works very well, and secures the doors at both top 
and bottom, is made of a three-eighth or half inch rod of iron, running the 
whole length of the door, up and down, and near the edge. It is held in place 
by staples driven over it into the arm pieces of the door. The staples are large 
enough so that the rod can turn easily in them. Before putting in the rod, have 
the ends bent so as to form hooks as semicircles, and bent outward at base of 
hooks, and a hand piece welded on at the center. 



T 



IRON ROD DOOR FASTENER. 



Two pins of iron, same size of the rod, are to be driven at top and bottom of 
the door ; one into the floor and the other into the timber over and just at the 
top of the door. Now, when the door is closed by a turn of the iron handle at 
the center bar, the rod is turned in the staples, so that the hooks set around the 
iron pins, and the door is held firmly in place. A little attachment to the hand 
piece enables one to manage it from the outside. The door (if double) overlap- 
ping the other by a cleat is the one to which to attach the rod. 



322 FARM BARNS AND STABLES. 

To Fasten Barn ©oors Open. — To fasten heavy barn doors open, 
when swinging out, or indeed for small ones, I have never found any device so 
effectual and convenient as a staple and hook. Fasten the hook to the side of 
the barn, and then drive the staple into the door at the proper place for making 
the connection. Even small hooks such as are for sale at hardware stores will 
answer every purpose, and the wire rings used in large picture frames will do 
for staples. Screwed into hard wood, they will stand heavy strain in case of 
high wind. 

Mang-ers in Horse Statoles. — Mangers are better than racks for feed- 
ing any animals, and I am glad that the old and injurious plan of compellmg 
animals to haul their feed down from racks — which is contrary to all laws of 
nature and reason — is being rapidly done away with. 

The manger in a horse stable should be situated at a convenient height for 
the horse to eat comfortably. I am opposed to the plan adopted by many of 
leaving a space between the manger and floor for storing bedding, for the 
reason that the strong odor which arises from straw soaked with urine is un- 
healthy for the horse to inhale ; and further, being directly beneath the feed- 
ing manger, the hay will be more or less injured by it. Another objection is, 
the bedding, when packed in that manner, has no chance to dry. 

Construction of Horse Stal>les. — On the construction of mangers a 
writer says : " After using for many years the following plan, I am satisfied it 
is superior to most arrangements, and excelled by none : A box or large tube, 
two and a half feet by two feet, and as high as the floor of the hay mow, is set 
up between two stalls in a small manger. The bottom of this box is two inches 
larger each way than the top, so as to prevent the hay from ever becoming 
wedged in or stuck. 

" A semicircular opening, one foot in the highest place, is cut into the bottom 
of the box inside the manger. Inside this manger and on the opposite end, is 
placed the box to feed grain ; if cut feed is used, the whole manger can be taken 
if necessary. The mangers should not exceed one foot in depth and two feet 
in width. 

" Horses have no difficulty in drawing out the hay from the bottom of this 
box or tube, and at the same time will not waste a particle, as it is always a 
little easier to eat the scattering hay which falls than to draw out fresh hay. 
The hay is kept clean and sweet until eaten by the horses." 

Horse stable I^itter. — The litter of the different stalls should be re- 
moved and spread upon the barn floor, or out of doors, if the weather will 
admit of it ; but if there is no chance to do either of these, I should prefer to 
shake it up thoroughly and place it along the sides of the stalls as far back as 
possible, so that it may have a change to dry out. 

After the bedding has been removed, and floor made clean, some absorbent 
should be put on, such as spent tan-bark, chaff or sawdust ; never use lime or 



FARM BARNS AND STABLES. 323 

ashes, as they will be likely to injure the hair of the animal. Fresh, dry earth 
is one of the best materials to use for purifying and drying up stable floors. 

LJglitiiig^ a IIor§e IStable. — The stable should be so arranged, with 
regard to light, that a person on coming from without would experience no 
difficulty in observing objects within. It is not best to have a bright beam of 
light let in immediately upon the horse's eyes ; but it should be a diffused and 
subdued light. 

Ventilating a Hor§e Stable. — Ventilation should always have partic- 
ular attention, and the conveniences for thorough ventilation so arranged that a 
current of .air coming directly upon the horse may at any time be shut off. A 
horse put into a stall, coming heated from the road, with the chilling, wintry 
winds blowing in a strong current upon him, is very much in danger of taking 
cold and being stiffened up. 

Earth Floors in Stables. — These are generally liked by those who have 
used them. They are certainly the natural foundation for a horse to lie upon. 
A further advantage is in having a ready absorbent for the liquid excrement. 
As clay is an excellent disinfectant it possesses a third advantage. A stable 
floor in general use never becomes thoroughly dry. It is not convenient to 
change planks, but the layer of clay may now and then be shoveled away and 
the bed renewed by fresh clay. It may be stored in the winter for that purpose. 

Width of Horse Stalls. — Mr. Wilkinson, a practical stable builder, says 
that he has concluded that more than four feet nine inches in width in the clear, 
for a stall for horses of ordinary size, is not only unnecessary, but injurious, as in 
stalls of greater width than this the horse is liable to roll and get against the par- 
tition, and the animal injured. The partition should be so high at the manger end 
that it will render it impossible for the animals to get their noses togethei, and 
should be so strong that it will be impossible for a horse to kick them through. 

Plank Stable Floors. — White pine makes a good floor. It should be 
two inches thick. It is best, if possible, to fill between the sleepers up to the 
floor with small stone or brick, and concrete it with lime mortar. 

Horse Stall Drainage. — Wilkinson says : " I have two modes of 
arranging the floor for effecting drainage. One is to place a cast iron drip- 
grate, two feet by two and a half feet, in the proper position to receive the urine 
as it falls. This plate or grate is so laid that its upper surface is an inch lower 
than the margins of the floor of the stall, and when the floor planks are laid, the 
upper surface of them so laid that they will be level with the drip-grate on all 
sides, thus giving the oblique or slope toward the center of the stall about an 
inch on all sides. 

" This not only secures the discharge of the urine into the drip-grate, by mak- 
ing the floor as I have described, but the feet of the animal are all on the same 
level, and when he lies with the back either way, the back is the highest — the 
position sought by the horse when at liberty. 



324 FARM BARNS AND STABLES. 

" In the use of a line of stalls, the drip-grates are connected with each other by 
a tile pipe under the floor, and finally discharged by a conduit out of the stable. 
Where there is a single stall, of course the drainage is taken directly out of the 
stable. The cleanliness of this arrangement, and the great economy in the use 
of bedding, gives to all using the fullest satisfaction. 

" The next best mode of arranging the floor is by keeping the side margins 
level from the front to rear, laying the long way of the plank crosswise of the 
stall, and laying them with a space of half an inch between the ends, which pro- 
vides a slot half an inch in width and six and a half feet in length in the center 
of the stall. 

" Under this slot I place a V shape iron urine drain, which discharges into a 
gutter under the floor behind the line of stalls, and is conducted out of the 
stable. The floor has the same advantage of a slope from side to center as that 
described above ; but the drainage is not as efficient, though it is about five 
dollars a stall less expensive, though not nearly so durable or economical in the 
use of bedding." 

Coal Tar for Stable Floor. — Another gentleman, in speaking of the 
merits of coal tar as compared with water lime for stable floors, says that a 
proper mixture of coal tar and fine gravel (or better, say coarse sand) is to all 
intents and purposes better than water lime, and fully as cheap, more durable, 
and can be more easily patched when broken ; besides all this, it is an enemy 
to rats and other vermin, and in all respects more cleanly and less affected by 
the ammonia from the excrements. It will last longer and be of a more con- 
sistent and persistent solidity under cover, than when exposed to the sun's rays 
and the influence of storms. 

Upper Floors of Stat>le§. — Where hay is kept over the stable, the floor 
overhead should either be ceiled or a wall below the joist be made of lath and 
plaster. The gases arising from a stall continuously, during a winter, will so 
impregnate the unprotected material for food above, as to make it absolutely 
unfit for an animal to eat. 

Oas Tar on Plank. Flooring'. — Where earth floors are not used, double 
planking, one and one-half inches thick, of white oak, saturated with hot gas tar 
and firmly spiked down, will keep dry. The incline should be sufficient to 
allow liquids to run off. 

Cow Stable Floors. — Throughout the country not more than one barn 
in every ten can be found that contains a stable floor so constructed but that 
the cattle are compelled to lie in their own filth, and the sides, legs and udders 
of the cow are. in a most untidy condition when the morning milking is done, 
and unless a great deal of washing and painstaking is practiced, the milk can- 
not be carried from the stable in its original purity. 

Now but little work is required to remove the one great cause of discomfort 
to cattle in stalls, and the almost whole cause of having winter milk unpalata- 



FARM BARNS AND STABLES. 325 

ble and impure. A platform should be built for the cows to stand upon, ex- 
tending far enough back from the stanchions to give sufficient standing room, 
and no more. In this way a dry, clean place to lie upon is secured. 

To JUake Co\i^ stable Platforms. — There are different modes for 
making this platform. Where a new floor is being put in, a short part can be 
laid at the back and the balance laid at an elevation of two or three inches 
above ; the last, of course, overlapping the first. 

On floors already laid, a good way is to spike down two by three scantling a 
little back of where the hind feet will come, and fill the space between this and 
the stanchion-sill with sawdust or dirt. This will make a good bed for the 
animals to rest upon, and it will also absorb all the moisture that may fall 
upon it. If dry sawdust, spent tan bark or dirt are put in, moisture will not be 
contracted in sufficient amount to injure the floor below, unless stock other 
than cows are kept upon it. 

Another good way is to lay down three strips of inch boards, at each end and 
center, and upon these lay the platform of two inch plank, giving an elevation 
of three inches. Air will circulate between the two floors and prevent rot. It 
is not economy to nail one floor to another without space between. 

The best way to find the exact spot at which the platform should terminate, 
is to go to the stable when the cows are in the stanchions and mark the dis- 
tance which they require to stand upon. The object is to have the excrements 
drop upon the lower floor, leaving the platform clean and dry. 

There should be an incline of at least two inches from the front of the stall 
to the back. 

£arth for Cow Stat>le§. — An agricultural correspondent writes me 
that his cow stable is built under a bank barn, is nine feet high and twenty- 
nine feet long, and is divided for the use of nine cows, which are fastened with 
^ipright stanchions secured by wooden catches. The cows stand upon an 
-earthen platform secured in the rear by square timber ; the length of platform 
from stanchion to the outside of timber is five feet six inches. 

A Manure Sledge. — Closely behind this earth platform is an unpatented 
invention of his own, consisting of a sledge thirty inches wide in three sections, 
made of strong oak boards ; the battens on the upper side and a three inch rim 
on the outside. In the end of each section nearest the door is attached a ring. 
The sledge being placed against the platform, leave a drop of about nine 
inches, and will retain the droppings for one week if necessary. 

He hitches a horse to the ring, draws into the yard, and turns over with a 
spike, or by hitching the horse to a hook in the center of the rim, then draws 
into the stable to its place. 

Beneath the sledges is a covered drain that discharges in the manure yard. 

Boxes for Cow Feeding-. — The rack or box for feeding in is directly 
in front of stanchions and is raised about three inches above the platform. In 



326 FARM BARNS AND STABLES. 

feeding cows, the space in box is divided to prevent horning and reaching for 
feed. Adjoining, he has stables in which cows are chained in box stalls with 
trough and rack, and can daily see the contrast between these and stanchions. 
He thinks his stable economical, convenient and practical. 

Tinitoer for Stable Floor§. — By some, objections are raised against 
the use of elm planks for cow stable floors, and the reasons assigned are that 
it retains moisture longer than other wood ; that it will warp ; that it rots out 
quickly, and that when wet it is very slippery. 

The objections in the main are groundless, for in the first place, elm will not 
retain moisture longer than any other wood. It being more porous than 
some, receives water more freely, and yields it to the influences of evaporation 
just as readily. No stable floor used sixteen hours, at least, per day, is expected 
to become dry. As to the second objection, the whole depends upon the selec- 
tion of timber. Common water, or white elm, will warp and is not profitable, 
but the chestnut elm, which is very similar in appearance, but firmer grained 
and harder, will not warp and is durable. This species grows upon higher and 
drj'^er soil than the water elm. I have used the chestnut elm scores of times for 
wagon boxes, and never found a better material. 

As to the third objection, I have used elm for floors in both cow and horse 
stables for twenty years without replacing, and doubt if any timber will do bet- 
ter than this. 

As to the last, elm does not become so slippery as most other kinds of wood. 
Any stable floor should be kept so well littered as to prevent slipping. 

I do not wish to be understood as placing elm at the head of the list of tim- 
bers for stable floors, for I prefer either oak or pine, but when it is condemned 
entirely, I enter protest. 

§tall§ for Cattle. — Where but few horned cattle are kept, box stalls are 
much to be preferred to stanchions. Cattle will do better if they have liberty of 
motion than if confined in one position. Commonly, however, there is a desire 
to economize space, and stanchions are used ; so a few hints will be given as to 
construction. 

material for Stanehions. — In obtaining lumber for making stanchions, 
it is best to get the material of different thicknesses. It will require three up- 
rights to each cow, one each side of the neck, and one between each two animals. 
As one must be movable, it should be a little thinner than the other two. The 
movable upright should be one and one-fourth inches thick, the other two one 
and a half inches thick, and all six inches wide. It is a bad plan to use poles or 
small sticks between the stanchions, as the cattle are liable to get their heads 
into the wrong places. 

Heigbt of IStancliioiis. — The height of the stanchions should be about 
six feet from floor to top, and the distance between the center of the stalls — that 
is, space for each animal — thirty-six to forty inches. Lumber for uprights cuts to 



FARM BARNS AND STABLES. 327 

good advantage when thirteen feet long. The side rails at bottom and top 
should be two inches thick and six inches wide. It is a very easy matter to lay 
out the work when the material is ready. It should be put together lying upon 
the stable floor, and then erected to place as a whole. 

To JLaj Out Cattle Stanchions, — In the first place, the side rails 
should be prepared of proper length, which is the entire length to be used 
for stabling. As it will generally be difficult to get sticks long enough to reach 
the whole length, they should be halved together at the ends, and firmly bolted 
with two and a half inch bolts. When all is ready, put down the rails for 
one side, and lay off the distances apart for the uprights ; place them in position, 
and then lay on the other side rails, and stay them in place by clamps or a 
few large nails. 

If thirty-six or thirty-eight inches is to be the space for each animal, lay out 
the work accordingly, and set the two neck rails each side of the mark three and 
a half inches, so as to leave a space of seven inches for the neck of the 
animal. 

When all is in place, bore three-eighth holes through the top and bottom — 
save the top of the movable upright — and bolt firmly with six-inch bolts. The 
two neck uprights should be allowed to extend above the top beam, to be used 
as a stay for the locking cap. It is not absolutely necessary to use bolts on 
the upright between the stanchions. They may be pinned or fastened with 
spikes or twenty-penny nails. After setting the framework up, bring the 
movable upright to the proper place ; then mark a bevel from one and a half 
inches on the outer edge to a lower point on the other edge ; take it out and 
saw it off. Then it can be put back to remain. 

The cap should be six inches wide, two feet long and an inch thick, and of 
good, tough wood. Cut a slot so that it will drop over the stationary upright ; 
also one to receive the movable upright ; then bevel the lower edge of the cap 
so that the two bevels coming together will raise it until the movable piece has 
reached the right place, then allow it to drop into a position which firmly 
secures it. 

Adjusting Cattle Stancliions. — Sometimes the space of seven inches 
for the neck of the animal proves to be too wide, and it is a common custom to 
nail a board on the stationary upright, allowing it to project sufficiently to lessen 
the space a:i inch or two. There is a better plan than that. Bore, at the time 
of making the stanchions, three holes through the sill and only one through the 
movable bar ; then, by knocking out the bolt, the lower end of the movable 
upright bar can readily be adjusted, either wider or narrower, to suit the 
requirements. 

An extra cap will be needed in case of narrowing, but it is better to go to the 
trouble of making that than to nail on a board, which may be split or pulled off, 
the animal get loose and do more damage than the whole construction costs. 



325 FARM BARNS AND STABLES. 

The stanchion frame should be firmly fastened in place by such means as the 
stable timbers best afford. 

Mangers for Cattle. — Every observing farmer who uses stanchions with 
open mangers for feeding cattle, knows that there is something wrong in this 
arrangement, for he sees that no favor can be given a particular animal, and in 
almost every herd one or more requires extra feed and care. 

It is well known that some cows are twice as long taking their food as others, 
some on account of poor teeth, and others from their natural habits. Then in a 
common open manger, animals that take in food rapidly will swallow that 
before them and steal from their less active neighbors, and to more effectually 
accomplish this, I have often seen them upon their knees that they might reach 
a greater distance. 

Some animals, also, that have the mastery, often act very shrewdly, and draw 
the fodder from before those beside them first, keeping their own allowance to 
leisurely consume, or work over and gather the best, after the other is gone. 

Sometimes grain or roots are fed to a few and not to the whole, and in this 
case with open mangers the neighboring animals are set into a state of agita- 
tion, and they reach and struggle to obtain a taste. If the feed is given out of 
the sight of others, no such commotion occurs. 

Now, this fault may be easily remedied by dividing the manger into sections 
with boards, allowing each animal space enough to contain just the food allotted 
to it. 

The only difficulty in using close mangers is in feeding corn stalks, but this 
is obviated by cutting them once or twice in two, or by feeding them out of 
doors, which is by far the best way when the condition of the ground and 
weather will admit of it. 

Barn Manure Cellars, — So far as I am individually concerned, the 
building of cellars beneath barns for the purpose of storing manure is not ap- 
proved. In the first place, I do not beheve these cellars pay the extra expense 
and labor required. If it is the desire of the farmer to save all the fertilizing 
material possible, vats may be constructed outside of the barn for the purpose 
of holding the liquid from the stable, and cheap sheds may be constructed to 
protect the soHd excrements from exposure to the sun. Storms do not injure 
manure if the liquor made by these is not allowed to run off. 

In the second place, the effluvium which arises from a manure pile beneath a 
stable is a positive injury to stock, and the fodder stored in the barn is damaged 
by the gases emanating from the decomposing substances. This last objection 
is one of more importance than is generally considered among farmers. It is 
the duty of every one who has charge of stock, to provide clean and wholesome 
quarters for them, and in the discharge of this duty there is a profit. 

A farmer, who has had a thorough experience in this fine, says : 

" Twenty years ago I built a barn with basement, level on the east, with the 



FARM BARNS AND STABLES. 329 

bottom of cellar wall on three sides — all open on the east. Neither hay nor 
^rain would keep well over the cellar ; grain would grow on the bottom and 
hay would turn red and must on the bottom and up on the sides for a number 
of feet, till I made holes in the underpinning on three sides, and let the air circu- 
late through the cellar ; since then all is right. 

" Three years ago, I built another barn with bank wall on the west — the rest 
enclosed with matched boards. The floor runs east on a level with the drive 
way on the west. The hay in the north bay extends from the top of barn to 
bottom of basement — the rest on a level with the barn floor. Under the floor 
and bay were stalls for eight cows, four oxen and two horses ; a row of windows 
and doors on the south and east to the basement. These were kept open in 
mild weather, and closed in cold and stormy weather. One window on each 
end , the top six lights left open till very cold weather. 

" I found the hay was spoiling against the north and east sides, and when 
carting for market had to use the hay knife and cut about two feet wide till I 
came down to the floor, and there it was not much hurt. The cold on the out- 
side condensed the moisture on the inside, and the timbers molded and turned 
black." 

Sarn Root Cellar§. — In many localities, barn cellars for storing vege- 
tables are made to pay richly, and I am inclined to think that profit would be 
derived, even in the best grain growing sections, for roots fed in winter, even 
in small quantities, show good results ; milch cows make generous returns for 
them, and all kinds of stock receive benefit, as they act as regulators upon the 
system, increasing the appetite and giving vigor and strength. 

On a common sized farm the cellar need not be large, for hundreds of bush- 
els of vegetables may be stored in a small place ; a larger one is preferable, 
however, if the means are at hand for constructing it. It should be located so 
that it may be easy of access from the barn floor, and so arranged that it may 
be ventilated freely, and the temperature kept just above a freezing point. 

Root Cellars Out of Doors. — A correspondent, writing upon the sub- 
ject of barn root cellars being built outside of the barn, says : " The best lo- 
cation is in a sandy or gravelly hill side, that needs no drainage in the wettest 
season. If not dry, it must be made so by artificial means. One half the depth 
of the cellar may be below the surface. 

A room ten feet square and eight feet high will hold about 640 bushels, and 
each additional foot of length will add 64 bushels to its capacity, if filled full to 
the top. A narrow width is to be chosen on account of its convenience in roof- 
ing. In a region of stone, this is the best material for the walls. Build them 
eight feet high and provide space for stairs and door at one end. Stone is also 
the best material for covering, if slabs twelve feet long can be procured to reach 
from wall to wall. In a granite or blue stone region these are easily procured 
from quarries by " gagging." 



T,^0 SHEDS FOR STOCK. 

Leave a manhole at the top, large enough for ventilation and for pouring in 
roots from the cart. The sides and top of the cellar should be covered with no 
less than two feet of earth, and neatly sodded. If on a side hill, it may be sq 
arranged as to drive loaded teams on top. If stone for the covering is not con- 
venient, a roof may be made by running up gable walls, putting on a long ridge 
pole and rafters arranged like a common roof. The rafters should be placed 
near enough to touch one another, or nearly so, and be strong enough to hold 
the covering of earth. Batten the rafters with slabs and cover all with earth 
and sods. 

In a region where wood is plenty, and there is no stone, the whole wall may 
be made of logs. When finished, it will be simply a log house under ground. 
It will serve a good purpose for many years. Concrete also makes excellent 
walls, and this material may be laid in the form of an arch. If the cellar is 
made of stone it should be cemented to keep out all depredators. 

Barn Thrashing Floors. — The large floor of the barn should be lined 
when it is laid to prevent the loss of seeds and grain. When putting down the 
floor, first cover the sleepers with half inch stuff, and put on the planks so that 
joints are broken. Some put lining only under the cracks. In such a case, 
the centers of the planks are not supported, and will jar when a team or wagoa 
comes upon them, or when the flail is used. 



SHEDS FOR STOCK. 



Cheap Hilking Shed. — When a farmer, not skilled with tools, desires 
a good building erected, he is under the necessity of employing a carpenter ; 
but because he is not able to have what he desires, his stock need not be made 
to suffer thereby. 

A shed may be built by any one who can use a hammer and saw, so as to 
not be unsightly, and afford good protection from storm. 

On one side of the yard make a tight board fence, five or six feet high, then 
in the yard, ten or twelve feet from fence, set post eight feet high, directly in 
front of the fence posts. Put on a plate at the tops of the long posts to run; 
parallel with the fence. Put another plate through the center parallel with the 
other, supported by post, then put on a board roof. The ends may be boarded 
or not, as you may choose. 

As this shed is chiefly for affording shelter from rain and sun in the summer 
it may be left open at the ends. 

Sheds of this kind also afford a protection from cold storms later in the sea- 



SHEDS FOR STOCK. 



33F 



son, before horned cattle are put in the stable, or for those that are left out 
during winter. 

To Make a Slieep Shed, — The same structure as described before, 
with the ends boarded down to within two and a half feet of the ground, will 
shut out cattle and afford a good shed for sheep. 

On the same plan a larger shed may be built in any location desired. Make 
two parallel side walls after the manner of the tight fence, twenty feet apart, 
and as long as desired ; then set the high posts in the center and roof down 
each way. Racks for sheep may be put in as described under head of " Racks^ 
for Sheep." 

Frame Shed. — Where it is desired to make a more sightly piece of work^ 
a frame may be made of scantling of any size desired. A simple form of put- 
ting the work together is shown in the illustration. A good sized stone, with an. 
upper flat surface, should be used for the scantling posts to rest upon. 




SIMPLE FRAME FOR STOCK SHED. 



Double Shed. — A Western farmer gives his experience in making a. 
double shed and stable, which will commend itself to many : 

" I used for many years a shed and stable twenty-eight by forty feet, built by 
setting strong posts, eight or ten inches in diameter, in the ground firmly, la 
four rows ; the two outer rows were made to be about six feet high above the 
ground ; they were set ten feet apart, requiring ten posts for a forty foot stable ; 
the four rows will require twenty posts. As a hay roof is best to be quite steep, 
the two center rows were made much taller than the outside ones ; ten feet is 
none too much to add, making them sixteen feet high. These center rows were 
set eight feet apart, which will allow of a wagon being driven between : the 



332 



SHEDS FOR STOCK. 



outer rows are then placed ten feet from them, to allow room for stalls and 
plenty of room behind for passage way. 

" The rafter plates on the rows can be set in notches cut in the tops of the 
posts, unless you have secured posts which have forks at the top, which are the 
best, as they will hold the plates more securely in place ; the rafters are made 
of poles of sufficient size to bear the weight of the roof ; for a thatch roof, they 
are put about four feet apart ; they are secured at the top by lapping the ends of 
each pair, and then driving a pin through holes bored for the purpose. 

"The next move is to nail the 'ribs' on which to lay the thatching; these 
may either be made of long slim poles, or strips of boards about two inches 
wide ; they are nailed on the rafters about a foot apart, though this is dependent 
on the length of the thatching to be used. There is nothing better for this pur- 
pose, I think, than the coarse slough grass, to be found all over the West in 
abundance." 

Board Roof§ for ^lieds. — Board roofs, as commonly made, are not of 
much account ; but they may be made both water tight and inexpensive by the 
following plans : Put a very thin board, three inches wide, beneath the boards 
where they come together, and nail the boards in the center. This will make 
them a little hollowing. Then cap the cracks with cleats four inches wide, 
beveled from center both ways. Thus the joints are doubly secured. Some 
"Cheap paint beneath the caps makes it all the better. 




BOARD ROOF WITH BATTENS. 



Another way is to drive nails into the plates so that the heads are up a quar- 
ter of an inch ; then nail the boards in the center. The nail heads will hold the 
edges up from the plates, so the water that passes the cap cleat will follow the edge 
of the board down to the eaves, as it will not come in contact with the plates 
and drop into the sheds. The cap cleats should be made as before suggested. 

Tliatcliing Shed Roofs. — A farmer has furnished the author with his 
method of thatching, which is very simple and complete : 

Take straight straw and of sufficient quantity to make one good sheaf, and of 
that one make two sheaves, or rather, a twin sheaf, that will be about four 
inches each part in diameter when completed ; that is, take straw as above 
mentioned, then bind with sufficient straw to make a good band ; then put the 
butt against something to make it even. Now hold the sheaf up before you, 
divide the same into two equal parts, and hold a part in each hand ; hold firm 



SHEDS FOR STOCK. 



33J 



in your left hand, then turn that in your right hand a complete somersault^ 
twisting the band and bringing tops together again, and instead of one sheaf 
you have a twin sheaf, which, when so made, should be very tight under the 
band. 




ROOF THATCHING WITH STRAW. 



Make the quantity you need as above described ; then take the quantity neces- 
sary for the lower or eaves row, and if you have a feed cutter, thrust them in 
there, one or more at a time, and cut off the uneven straws at the butt. 

All things being ready — ^the lathing nailed on eighteen or twenty inches apart 
— draw a line for the eaves row, so the eaves will be straight ; then commence by 
laying a thin sheaf flat down at one end of the eaves, with the top up ; take some 
of the outer sheaf near the twist in the band, leaving it fast under the band, and 
twist it like a rope ; draw the same under the lath in such a way as to secure 
the end sheaves. 

Now add straw to the rope from the second sheaf, and twist it together, and 
draw it over the same sheaf and under the lath ; then lay down the next sheaf 
close by the side of the first ; add a little straw if necessary as before to the 
rope as you proceed to the end, and then secure your rope well. 

Then commence the second row by laying on, tops down, and secure as be- 
fore ; and so proceed by adding row to row until you get to the comb, the up- 
per rows always lapping over the row beneath, which makes a roof some six or 
eight inches thick. 

The thatcher will see by this mode that the rope of straw on the upper row 
will be exposed to the weather and an opening between the sheaves, so that it 
would leak at the comb. 

This opening may be covered in one or two ways. Two wide boards may be 
nailed together, like the ridge board of any building, and put on and fastened 
down by wires, or you may lay loose straw on the upper row, of sufficient thick- 
ness ; then fasten the same with splints, such as basket makers use, if they can 
be obtained — if not, use fine wires — and sew it fast to the straw rope in the 
same manner that straw hives are sewed together. 



334 FEEDING BOXES FOR CATTLE. 

In laying the upper row on the first side, let the loose straws extend above 
the level of the other side, and with a paddle beat them level. When you finish 
the last side let it project above, and then trim the comb and eaves in a work- 
manlike manner. 

Coal Tar Flat Roof. — Where it is desirable to make a roof nearly flat, 
it may be done by means of coal tar, fine sand, or road dust. As to the way of 
doing it, a farmer writes : " Several years ago, I made a flat roof in the follow- 
ing manner : I first laid jointed flooring boards upon the rafters, and covered 
this surface with roofing paper and road dust, then poured upon sections of the 
roof small quantities of raw coal tar, spreading it evenly with a shingle, to the 
depth of half or three-quarters of an inch ; that is, as long as the dust continued 
to be wet through to the top by the tar. It took me but an hour or two to 
go over the whole roof, 13x18, in this manner, 

" My first application was made in May ; and about six weeks later I went over 
the whole surface again, in like manner, finishing up with the fourth applica- 
tion in September. Since the first application of the tar and dust, the roof has 
not leaked a drop, and appears good for a century to come. Since the first 
year, eighteen years ago, it has been like a firm sheet of stone, about half an 
inch thick, upon which the children can sit, walk, run or dance, without injury 
to the roof." 



FEEDING BOXES FOR CATTLE. 



Boxes for Stalls. — When ground feed is given to cattle in their stalls, a 
way other than pouring the meal upon the floor or using common boxes and 
pails should be adopted. A pail or small box is very liable to be overturned^ 
and if the feed is given upon the floor much of it will be scattered and lost 
while the animals are trying to gather it with their tongues. Feeding boxes 
should be made flaring, and so constructed as not to be easily upset. They can 
be made with but little expense. 

How to Make a Flaring- Box. — Take a soft wood board, about 
eight inches wide and one inch thick, to make the sides form. Cut two pieces 
from the board first, to be used as patterns, which will greatly facilitate the 
work. Make the first ten inches wide at one edge, and thirteen inches at the 
other, and the second twelve inches at one edge and fifteen at the other ; then 
cut any number you desire from these patterns. By reversing the scribe board 
each time, but one saw cut will have to be made for each side piece. 

When the boards are nailed together, you will have a bottomless box ten 
inches square at the bottom and thirteen at the top. Now .plane off the bot- 



FEEDING RACKS FOR SHEEP. 335 

torn edges so that they will set down evenly upon a level surface and fasten on 
a bottom board fourteen inches square, by nailing through into the sides. 

Boxes made in this way cannot be easily overturned, and besides, cattle can 
readily eat their grain without any loss of the feed. The board used for mak- 
ing the boxes should be planed on one side before sawing it up, so that the in- 
side of the boxes may be smooth. 

Using Feed Boxes. — If grain is to be fed once a day, it is best to ar- 
range the boxes in the mangers, and put in the feed before letting in the cattle. 
This practice will bring the stock promptly to the barn, and make them anxious 
to enter the stable. If grain is given while the animals are in their stalls, re- 
move the hay or oats from the manger, set in the boxes, and then deal out the 
grain in such quantities as desired for each. 



FEEDING RACKS FOR SHEEP. 



Raeks in Sheds. — If sheds are used to feed sheep in, it is always best to 
construct racks around next to the walls, so that the hay may be put in from 
the outside. They are easily made by driving stakes of scantling twenty inches 
from the sill inside and six feet apart ; nail on boards about one foot wide at the 
bottom, and others, narrower, eight or ten inches above these. Cleats may be 
nailed up and down once in ten inches, if desired, so that each sheep may have 
a stall by itself; but I do not approve of this plan if there are any horned 
sheep in the flock. 

Cut away the weather-boarding from the sill outside, up eighteen or twenty 
inches ; put a girth on the inside just above the opening to stay the siding ; then 
a broad board, or two cleated together, should be hung by leather or strap iron 
hinges on the outside. This door may be raised and the hay put in without 
disturbing the flock. 

It is a bad plan to enter a shed filled with sheep carrying a fork full of hay ; 
the animals are frightened, and in their rush to get out, the weaker ones are 
knocked down and trampled upon, and the less fearful get their fleeces filled 
with seed and chaff as the hay is passed over their backs. 

In warm weather, the drops on the outside of the shed may be left up, thus 
forming a good ventilation for the shed. This opening also increases the 
comfort when used as a milking shed in hot, rainy weather. 

Portable Sheep Raeks. — For outdoor feeding they are made simple 
and cheap ; all of the material required for a single rack is four boards twelve 
feet long, two of them twelve and the other two six inches wide ; four more of 
the same widths, thirty inches long ; six posts, thirty inches long, for uprights 
in the corners and the center, of two by three scantling. 



336 FEEDING RACKS FOR SHEEP. 

Nail the boards to the uprights, wide ones at the bottom two inches from 
lower end of scantling, and the narrow boards ten inches above these ; that is, 
leave a space of ten inches between the two for the sheep to put their heads in. 

It is a good plan to have a drop board to cover this space, hung by leather 
hinges, so that the hay may be put into the rack before the sheep are allowed to 
begin feeding. When all is ready, lift the drops by turning them up and fasten- 
ing with a strap or otherwise. 

If desirable, cleats may be nailed across the end and middle scanthng on the 
inside, and a board floor put in two or three inches above the ground. The 
ends of the rack had better be boarded up, as sheep attempting to eat from the 
ends crowd out those near the corners at the sides. These racks may be 
hauled upon a sled to any part of the farm. The plan is old, but popular,, 
nevertheless. 

Cros§ Slat Rack. — A rack can be easily made for either sheep or cattle 
by setting a couple of crotches, putting a pole therein, and driving sticks cross- 
wise after the manner of the illustration. 




lS\iT/'^.C*^^^, 



CROSS STICK FEED RACK. 



These racks are very good when the ground is dry or frozen. When the 
earth is soft more or less of the feed will likely be pulled out and trampled 
into the ground, but it is better then than feeding on the ground. Round 
poles may be used instead of sawed slats, if the latter cannot be procured. 

Flaring^ Sheep Rack§. — A farmer who used the following style of a 
rack recommends it very highly for sheep, as it will prevent the waste of hay. 
Take planks, as long as you choose, two inches thick, and eight inches wide. 
Bore holes with inch bit once in two and a half inches near the edge of side 
and ends, the side holes slanting out enough to make the rack two feet wide at 
top ; use rods or slats eighteen inches long, shaved eight square, and fit on top 
piece of light scantling by boring holes corresponding to those in the bottom 
piece. 

Put pieces of inch board across the ends and middle for supports. Put a 
board one foot wide on each side and the ends at top. Set the rack upon legs, 
two at each end, one in the center to keep from sagging. Across the bottom of 



HOW TO MAKE TROUGHS. 337 

the legs nail boards long enough to keep the rack from upsetting, and it is com- 
plete. 

Feeding- Racks for Cattle. — There are hundreds of tons of hay lost 
every winter among farmers by careless feeding. I have been astonished some- 
times when witnessing the amount wasted around barn-yards and stacks. This 
waste is entirely unnecessary, and if it were made the rule of every farmer never 
to feed any kind of stock upon the ground, thousands of dollars might be 
saved annually. There are times, to be sure, when the earth is frozen dr)r and 
clean, but if racks are not provided, full one-half of the time the hay will be 
dealt out either in wet, snow or mud, and a good portion lost. 

When cattle are fed out of doors, which is necessary before cold weather has 
come, or in the spring when the days are warm, portable racks should be used 
around stacks and their location changed every few days ; the racks should be 
so constructed that the stock can get at their feed handily, and at the same time 
made so that the hay cannot be pulled out and trampled under foot. 

Double Portable Rack§. — For cattle, a good rack may be made with 
common rough boards and a few pieces of scantling. Make them four or five 
feet wide, ten or twelve feet long, and two feet deep ; have four by four inch 
scantling in the corners, and also in the center of the ends, running up twelve 
or fifteen inches above the top of the rack ; to the latter nail in a center parti- 
tion lengthwise ; thus you have a double rack where cattle will eat contentedly. 

Do not have the end boards or pieces of scantling reach down as low as 
the side boards, and then by rounding up the ends of the side boards, after the 
manner of sled runners, the racks may be easily drawn from one place to 
another. 

Pole Feeding- Racks. — Where scantling and board are not obtainable 
a good rack may be made of poles. Corner and center posts three feet long, to 
which are pinned side rails three in number. A foot from the ground put in 
cleats and a bottom of poles. 



HOW TO MAKE TROUGHS. 



Board Pig Trough.— A trough for feeding pigs may be made from 
boards in a little time, that will answer the same purpose of one dug from a log 
of wood. The work of making is very simple, yet not one farmer in ten can nail 
one up so that it will hold swill. The difficulty arises from attempting to 
square the ends of the side boards before nailing them together. 

Take two boards, inch thick, and a little longer than the trough is to be, 
straighten the edges, and have one board one inch wider than the other ; nail 
them together in V shape, only not so steep, the broadest board on the outer 



338 HOW TO MAKE TROUGHS. 

edge of the other ; then saw off the ends square, and nail on the end boards 
firmly, which should be about the width of the narrowest side board and frorli 
fifteen to eighteen inches long. If there is any leakage, a little cement for wood 
may be applied. By soaking the trough with oatmeal and water, all small 
cracks and seams will be closed. 

C^raiii Trough for SSieep. — Troughs for feeding sheep may be cheaply 
constructed by simply nailing two boards together as described for a pig trough, 
but they are not well adapted for the use intended, as they are stationary, and 
liable to be filled with snow or ice when feeding time comes. Of course, they 
may be inverted, but this necessitates the flock master's staying until the sheep are 
through eating. A better plan is to make a trough with four sections, as follows : 

Take an inch board, eight to twelve feet long, and ten inches wide, and two 
boards five inches wide, same thickness and length. Line the wide board in 
center both sides. Now set one of the narrow boards on edge, place the broad 
board lengthwise upon it, just so that the edge of the narrow board touches the 
center line, or, in other words, have the narrow board lengthwise of the broad 
one just its thickness out of the center, and nail down through the wide board 
into the narrow until it is firmly secured. Now invert ; set the other narrow 
board on edge and nail as the first, only the other side of the opposite center line. 

Saw off the ends after it is nailed together, so as to have them square, and 
nail on end pieces fourteen inches square, so that the center of the quadruple 
trough is in the center of the boards. This feeding arrangement will be right 
side up ; let the ends rest on any of their four sides, and the flock master will 
always have a clean trough to feed in. 

Troughs from Hollo\%^ Logs. — Grain troughs that will answer a very 
good purpose may be made from half sections of hollow logs, as shown in the 
illustration. The inside should be smoothed out with a large gouge. Where 




TROUGH FROM A HOLLOW LOG. 

lumber cannot be easily obtained, these log troughs may be quickly constructed 
on a timber farm. 

Wrought Iron Sheep Trough. — For feeding roots, the following 
wrought iron trough is much used in England. It is substantially made of 
wrought iron, and is fixed on four wheels, so as to be readily drawn about by 
a lad ; or, when required to be removed any distance, half a dozen may be 
hooked together and drawn by a horse, it being quite strong enough to be so 
used. It is nine feet long, and is made with a rod over the center, from end to 



HOW TO MAKE TROUGHS. 339 

end, to prevent sheep jumping over, or getting into it; and it is so firm that it 
will not upset 




IRON FEED TROUGH WITH WHEELS. 



"Watering Trough. — These can be made of pine planks two inches thick, 
and of such proportions as one may desire. The sides and ends should be 
matched into grooves and cemented with white lead ground in linseed oil. By 
putting on a board cover all but a foot at one end and having a trap for that, 
most of the trough may be inclosed in sawdust during winter and kept from 
freezing. 

Scalding- Troughs for IIog§. — An old farmer says : " I will give you a 
description of a scalding trough of my own manufacture, which I have used with 
satisfactory results for several, years, and which any person understanding the 
use of the saw and hammer can put together in a few hours, at a trifling expense. 

" First make the sides and ends of a trough, out of well seasoned two inch 
planks of the following dimensions : from six to eight feet long (according to the 
size of your hogs), two and a half feet wide at the top, two and a quarter feet 
at the bottom, and about two and a half feet deep. The end pieces should be 
grooved half an inch into the side pieces, the frame nailed together with twenty- 
penny nails, and further secured by two iron rods at each end, which should 
bolt on to small iron strips traversing the ends of the side pieces. The bottom 
of the trough should be of one-quarter inch sheet iron, lapped over about one 
inch and securely nailed to the outside of the sides and ends. 

" A further addition may be made by fastening two small iron chains by sta- 
ples to the sides of the trough, about two or three feet apart. When in use, 
these can be dropped in and over the trough, and by them a hog can readily be 
turned or lifted. When completed, the trough may be set on a cheap brick fur- 
nace, or a small ditch may be dug for the fire, which will answer nearly as well. 

" When not in use, the trough should be first washed clean, then put away 
in a dry place, and by proper care it will last twenty years." 

Another Plan. — Another writer says : " The best arrangement I ever 
saw was a trough made of pine planks, two feet wide, sixteen inches high, six 
and a half feet long, wider at top than bottom, with a round iron kettle set in 
the bottom, water tight, set in brick in the usual way, with a block of pine 
wood turned to fit the inside of the kettle ; a windlass above the front edge of 
the trough, with a hook and ropes, a crane with bows and hooks to slide hogs 
off on, and a stout bench for dressing. 



340 HOW TO MAKE TROUGHS. 

" Fill the kettle with water, start a fire, and as soon as the water is hot and 
hog dead, hitch one hook into the jaw and the other into the gambrel ; hoist 
over the box and lower on the block, which drives the water out of the kettle 
all around the hog. When scalded and raised out, the block floats, and the 
water goes back into the kettle again for the next. I have never seen anything 
so convenient and simple." 

BoaFd Eave Trouglis, — All frame outbuildings should be protected by 
eave troughs. As there is an annual rainfall of about three cubic feet to each 
square foot of surface, an immense volume of water is flooded down from the 
roof of a building. A portion of this is dashed up against the wall siding and 
sills, and the effect can but be detrimental in causing decay. Especially around 
barn doors, where grading has been done for driveways, rot may be expected at 
an early day. 

Another bad result comes from allowing thousands of barrels of water dur- 
ing the season to flood into the barnyard. The fertilizing substance of manure 
is carried away, and the water adds very materially to the depth of the mire, as 
well as to the period of its duration. 

It is a matter of but trifling expense to put up home-made eave troughs which 
will carry the water away from the building, to flow off in streamlets, if not de- 
sired to store it in a cistern. Pine boards are best for making the troughs, but 
any well seasoned lumber, hard or soft, will do. If the lumber is inch thick, 
cut one-half of the boards four, and the other three inches wide, the longer the 
better. As a farmer is not likely to have a set of match planes, the trough may 
be made without. 

Dress one edge of the narrow board straight, and plane the surface of the 
wide board where the edge of the other is to come. Now coat these two sur- 
faces thoroughly with thick white or red lead paint and put together. If the 
boards are pine, they are better screwed, as expansion will draw nails ; if hard 
wood, nail up firmly. No end pieces are required. After putting together, 
coat the inside thoroughly with same paint. Let the coating dry in the sun, 
then paint again and put up the troughs. 

If lead paint is not in the farmer's possession, hot pitch may be used. In 
cage he has neither of these, use any oil paint, and after the first coat has dried, 
putty the crack, crowding in all possible ; then coat with two more dressings of 
paint. 

To Put Up Eaves Troughs. — Brackets may be used the whole length 
of the building, or brackets — simply strips of notched boards — may be nailed on 
the ends of buildings and wire or hoop iron used to support the center. Wire 
is preferable, as it will not rust off nearly so quick as thin band iron. At one 
end set the trough close up to the ends of the shingle, and allow a drop on an 
ordinary barn of eight inches. Where the sections of trough come together, 
lap six inches by dropping upper one into groove of lower. 



FARM MILKING YARDS. 341 

FARM MILKING YARDS. 



Muddy Yards. — If there is any one thing connected with the dairy busi- 
ness that a farmer dreads more than another, it is a muddy milking yard ; and 
yet almost every husbandman has one to contend with. Even if located upon 
rolling ground it will become soft and almost unusable during the wet season of 
fall and spring, by the constant poaching of cows, and the milking has to be done 
where the mire is nearly boot deep ; and the women folks, who do fully one-half 
of the dairy milking, are compelled to wade there night and morning, a thing 
that should never be tolerated. 

Double Milkiug^ Yards. — Several plans have been adopted by farmers 
to obviate mud, but none have appeared to entirely answer the purpose without 
causing great expense or considerable inconvenience ; some have two or three 
milking yards, and as one gets well poached up, the cows are changed to another, 
but dry footing is not then obtained. 

Others use a large meadow during the wet season, and find a comfortable 
and clean place for milking, for a new locality may be taken morning and even- 
ing ; but I am sorry for the farmer who does not know that he had better ex- 
pend considerable money upon a milking yard, than continue this ruinous prac- 
tice of tramping down mowing ground while the sod is tender and the soil is 
mucky. 

Stabling cows while milking is a much better and more profitable practice, 
but not always convenient, for often the yard, to be handy to the dairy house, 
is not near the barn. 

Paving Milking^ Yards with Stone. — Now, it appears to me that some 
■cheap and simple mode of paving may be done that will entirely overcome this 
great difficulty. Paving with stone or brick makes an excellent foundation, 
but would incur too great an expense in most localities, and gravel beds are 
not plentiful enough to furnish, conveniently, macadamizing material. So far 
as my experience goes, underdraining does but little good, for continual rain 
and perpetual treading of cattle upon the summit of a clay mound would make 
mud knee deep, even if cut up into yard square sections by underdraining. 

Paving Yards witli Wood. — The plan of paving with blocks of wood 
suggests itself ver^' forcibly. The farmers, however, need not go to the expense 
•of laying Nicholson, but may work out during the winter from his forest trees 
^ood material, and when the ground has settled in the spring, complete the 
work. 

Blocks sawed five or six inches long, squared by taking off the sap, would, with- 
out question in my mind, make a durable foundation for milking yards. The 
surface of the earth should be removed at a suitable time, and foundation made 



342 CONSTRUCTION OF DAIRY HOUSES. 

smooth ; then the blocks laid as closely as possible together, and the interstices 
filled with gravel, and coal tar applied, if one can afford the slight extra cost. 

The expense of paving in this way cannot be great. Logs can be drawn 
near the spot where they are wanted while the earth is frozen, and covered with 
snow, and sawed up in short order by horse power. One log eighteen feet long 
would make from thirty to forty cuts, and if they were large enough to square 
two feet each way, would pave 07ie hundred and sixty square feet. Any one 
can see that no great outlay of time or money would be required to put a good 
sized milking yard into a durable and agreeable condition. 

When repairs are needed, a block can be taken up without the least damage 
to the rest of the paving. The blocks, before laying, may be immersed in a 
tank of melted tar, securing a perfect permeation of the pores with the preserv- 
ing Hquid. 



CONSTRUCTION OF DAIRY HOUSES. 



MilR and Curing^ Rooms. — Where several cows are kept, and cheese 
is made upon the farm, there should be a dairy house separate from the resi- 
dence. The expense need not be great, and yet the building have a good exter- 
nal appearance. 

The house should consist of two rooms — the milk or vat room of ordinary 
finish — but the curing room must have particular attention, especially where 
cheese is to be kept in cold weather. There are several approved methods 
of construction. 

Double Wall Dairy House. — An old dairyman says : " Lay a founda- 
tion with good hard burnt bricks, or with stones a thirteen inch wall. On this 
set a frame, say of five inch studding. After siding up, ceil on the inside, and 
fill in with charcoal. Overhead have a flooring and ceil beneath the joists, put- 
ting charcoal between. This is a non-conductor of heat, and also a good ab- 
sorbent of foul air. 

" Have a door in one end and on each side ; at least two-thirds the distance 
back from the door put windows, with sash hung at top, to be hooked up to 
ceiling. Get wire gauze, paint it, and tack over each window to exclude all ver- 
min, ' from a cat to a gnat.' Now put from four to six inches of good gravel 
on the floor, and pound it till it is sohd ; then cement this as you would a cistern,, 
also the foundation walls. As your frame will not extend in as far as your wall, 
you can put a shelf on it, say nine inches wide, which will be handy to use for 
various purposes. 

" Lastly, put a six inch tube of galvanized iron at the rear end, running from 
within a foot of the ground to two feet above the roof, with a cap on top and aa 



CONSTRUCTION OF DAIRY HOUSES. 343 

opening on each side equal to the diameter of the tube. Then, with good 
sweet pans, you will have milk and butter that will do to set before a queen. 
Scrupulous cleanliness is very important ; without this, no milk house will make 
good butter." 

Another Metliod. — The experience of another husbandman is given as 
follows : " I built a dairy house several years ago for use in winter and summer. 
It was twelve by fifteen feet on the outside, a common frame. Inside of this, 
twelve inches from the outside, I built another frame, which was ceiled with 
wide boards. Between the weather boarding and ceiling sawdust was filled in. 
Twelve inches from the top of the outside frame (the inside frame should be 
that much lower) I laid wide planks and covered the joints with narrow 
boards, and filled that space also with sawdust. My sills were under the ground 
and filled between with small rock and hme mortar. 

" For the floor I filled some three inches with thin stone, then took a sledge 
hammer and beat them up finely, and leveled off. When this was done I took 
thin mortar and poured over the top and leveled with a plasterer's trowel, mak- 
ing the whole thing rat proof. There should be two door shutters, one to each 
frame, for winter." 

Inside Dairy House Walls. — It is not an uncommon thing in the con- 
struction of milk and cheese houses to plaster the inside wall, but this, while 
warmer, is not so good as ceiling, for the reason that after a time by the moving 
of shelves and the handling of implements, the plastering gets bruised, and lime 
dust and gritty substances get on the cheeses, which cannot be easily re- 
moved. 

Wall Filling for Dairy House. — Various materials may be used for 
wall filling in the curing room cf a dairy house. Charcoal is an excellent 
material, sawdust is good, and fine shavings of equal value. Charcoal has the 
advantage of not giving good lodgment for mice, but it is not always conven- 
ient for a farmer to obtain that material in sufficient quantities. Sawdust is 
generally accessible, and if dried and well packed, will keep an even tempera- 
ture — a very essential point in cheese curing. When brick curing rooms are 
constructed, the double wall is dispensed with. 

Temperature of Curing Room. — The best dairymen differ in 
opinions respecting the best degree of heat for cheese curing ; some place the 
proper temperature at 6^^, others as high as 85''. As these are extreme points, 
the best temperature is between the tv/o, and accords with my own experience, 
in having the heat 70"^ or 75"'. Whatever degree of temperature is determined 
upon, it should be kept uniform. Ventilation should not be neglected, but 
currents of cold air should never be allowed to pass over the cheeses. The 
rind of a new cheese will check into thousands of fine sections if exposed but 
for a few minutes to a draught of cold air. 

The room should not be kept close. The deep white mold observed upon 



344 SMOKE HOUSES. 

cheeses in some rooms is caused by keeping the apartment too close. To cure 
perfectly, cheese needs air, but that modified, and not in rapid motion. The 
ventilating apparatus should be so arranged, that the dairyman can fully control 
it. The blue mold found upon cheese is produced by the curing room being 
too damp. 

Dairy Spring- Mouse. — A correspondent says : " Not long ago, I con- 
structed a spring house which is very much admired, and believing it to be very 
perfect in principle, I will describe it for the benefit of your readers. The house 
is for a small dairy, though its capacity may be doubled without increasing the 
size of the house, by placing another sink for water twelve inches above the one 
I shall describe, supporting in the same manner, and allowing the water to flow 
into the uppermost one first, thence to the lower one. The building is circular, 
ten feet in diameter on the inside, and has a ten feet ceiling. 

The wall may be of brick or stone. If of brick, it need be but nine inches 
thick ; if of stone, eighteen inches thick. The floor to be cemented on the 
earth. The building to be located below the spring, so that the water will flow 
through a pipe to the height of two feet nine inches above the floor of the dairy 
room. The water is received into one end and discharged at the other end of 
the sink in which the pans of milk are set. 

The sink is the shape of a horse shoe, the opening at the heel being placed in 
front of the door. It is of iron, eighteen inches wide at the top and thirteen 
inches at the bottom, and twenty-six feet long. 



SMOKE HOUSES, 



Barrel Smoke House. — Dig a narrow pit from twelve to eighteen 
inches deep, throwing the earth all out on one side. From near the bottom of 
this pit dig a trench of sufficient length to hold one or two joints of stove-pipe, 
at such an angle as will bring the end away from the pit to the surface of the 
ground. 

Over the end of this pipe set a common flour barrel or large cask, as may be 
needed, and, having removed both heads, bank up around it with loose earth, 
so that no smoke can escape at the bottom. Hang the hams, etc., in it, using 
some round stick to run through the strings. 

Putting a cover on the sticks will leave space enough for draught to let the 
smoke pass freely. Build a smoke fire of corn cobs, damp hard wood or saw- 
dust, in the pit, and you will have a cheap, safe and efficient smoke house with 
very Httle trouble. 



CONSTRUCTION OF PIG PENS. 345 

Brick l^moke House. — Dig a pit six feet square, or five by seven, to a 
depth below frost ; fill with gravel and lay a brick floor in stout mortar. Make 
the walls eight inches thick, and six and a half feet high. Have the door thirty 
inches wide and line inside with zinc. At top put on joist two by four, lath 
and plaster or board on top and coat with cement. Put chimney in center, and 
put on shingle roof. If one chooses, an arch can be built on the outside, with 
a small iron door to shut it up, similar to a stove door, with a hole from the 
arch through the wall of the smoke house. 

Gum ^moke House. — A very good arrangement for smoking hams 
may be made from a few feet in length of hollow log, and it will last for years. 
The gum should be at least four feet long and may have an opening cut in one 
side for building a fire, or it may be set upon a brick arch, or, cheaper still, upon 
the ground, and a pit dug with sloping side sufficiently large to admit of a fire 
pan. As hams are generally smoked in the country, they contain too much 
creosote. This is caused by not having sufficient ventilation. The smoke 
should slowly pass the meat, but not be made to settle upon it. A board laid 
upon the sticks which cross the top of the gum to support the hams, is suffi- 
cient covering. 



CONSTRUCTION OF PIG PENS. 



Untidy Pig Pens. — Farmers in a majority of cases have less pride in 
what they do for swine than any other labor upon the premises. First class 
barns for horses and cattle, convenient sheds, etc., for sheep are numerous, but 
it is something of a rarity to see a nice airy and really convenient pig sty. 

The reason of this is doubtless attributable to the generally conceived idea 
that the hog is a filthy animal, and not fit to occupy a decent place ; but the fact 
is, swine are made more filthy than it is their nature to be, by being confined in 
unwholesome and unclean pens. 

Cleaning Pig Pens. — A pen can be easily constructed so that the floors 
of the different departments may be kept dry and wholesome, plans for which 
are given on next page. The floor should be tight, on a little decline, and kept 
littered with good absorbents. 

In the construction of pens there is a general fault in the way of having them 
too low between joints, most of them being not over five feet, when there 
should be not less than seven, so that a man may stand erect in them. I have 
seen many expensive pens having this fault, and the swine therein absolutely 
aieglected, on account of the back aching work of cleaning the different sections 
out. 



34^ CONSTRUCTION OF PIG PENS. 

Pig Pen 'with Yard. — Every sty should have a good yard at one side, 
so that the swine may get at the earth, but they should not be allowed to run 
herein at will, nor should the cleanings of the pen be thrown into the yard to 
be mixed with the soil by the trampling and rooting of the hogs, for it is one of 
the most valuable manures that can be produced upon a stock farm. 

Plan for a Pig Pen. — A Western swine raiser submits the following 
plan : " Take four sills Sx8 inches, twenty-four feet long ; place them parallel 
on stone pillars : first three twelve feet spread, the fourth six feet from third. 
Thus you have a foundation 24x30 feet. Frame in end of sills, posts 4x6 inches, 
five feet long, with ties twelve and six feet long, framed in posts two and a half 
feet from sills. Ten feet from the end of the sills frame in posts 4x4 inches, 
eleven feet long, with ties ten and twelve feet long, framed in center, and end 
posts three feet from sills. Twelve feet ties go between two bents in center. 

" Spike on pieces four feet long, seven feet from sills on center posts ; frame 
or spike on plates 4x4 inches, on end of outside and center posts ; put on your 
rafters one and one half inches (strong) by five, side up ends from rafters to 
bottom of sills. Side up sides to middle tie, except the last six feet space, which 
side up to bottom of sills. Side up center posts three feet high and twenty-four 
feet long. 

" Divide the six feet space from twenty-four, use joist 2x6 inches, twelve feet 
long. Flooring one and a quarter inches by ten feet long. The joists will run 
from sill to sill and flooring same way as sills. The center of foundation should 
be two inches higher than the sides. You will then have two pens 9x24 feet, 
crib 5x24 feet, hall in center 4x24 feet. The hall can be floored with twelve 
feet plank, running lengthwise. 

" This is a general outline of my plan. Any man of ordinary mechanical 
ability may construct the building himself, varying the plan to suit his taste. It 
will pay for itself within one or two years in the amount of grain saved, and in 
raising pigs in the spring." 

Portable Pig Pen. — Another farmer gives a plan by which the pig sty 
may be moved by a team to any location where it is desired to feed grain, or 
enrich ground. 

" Take two pieces of 6xS good timber each fourteen feet long ; dress one 
end of each in form of a sled runner, then lay them parallel eight feet apart, 
with the six inch edge on the ground ; now take 4x4 inch scantling and 
halve or tenon in crosswise one piece at each end, and one foot from the ends 
of the runners, sinking the four inch strips one and one-half inches below the 
level line of the upper side of the runners. 

" Lay a floor of one and one-half inch plank over one-half of the surface, say 
8x7. Next mortise in 4x4 scantling at each corner and midways for posts om 
which to nail boards for enclosing. 

" Let these four posts be flushed with the outside line of the runners ; then 



HOW TO BUILD CORN CRIBS. 347 

nail inch boards on the inside, dividing the whole with a cross fence or parti- 
tion on a line of the floor. Roof over the floored part, and with a slide door 
shut your hogs in or out of that part, and your pen is completed." 



HOW TO BUILD CORN CRIBS. 



Rail Corn Cribs, — Almost every conceivable kind of structure is put up- 
for holding corn, cheap and expensive, ranging from rail pens to costly build- 
ings, many of them economical, and many not. In large corn growing sec- 
tions, where one man has many thousand bushels to store up, the amount in- 
jured by exposure to weather in a crib made of poles or rails, or the quantity 
destroyed by birds and vermin, men do not mind, but when a farmer raises but 
a few hundred bushels and keeps it to be consumed by his own stock, he can- 
not afford to feed a thousand rats and mice, or to have the quality of his grain 
damaged by exposure. 

I^torin Proof Cribs, — There are two cheap plans upon which cribs may 
be built that will protect the grain entirely from storms, birds and vermin, and 
at the same time give all the necessary ventilation. A common size crib is 
built five or six feet wide at the sills, twenty inches or two feet wider at the 
plates, seven and a half feet high, and as long as any one may choose, but usu- 
ally twelve feet. 

Set strong round posts in the ground about two feet, and let them extend 
above ground thirty inches, and on the tops place inverted tin pans in the usual 
form of building rat proof cribs. Set studs once in sixteen inches along the 
sides and one end, framed into the sills and plates, then clap-board up the sides. 
as you would any other building, excepting ihat lifters are to be nailed under 
each board at the studs to keep them from laying down tight. 

The best way is to make wedges of soft wood, two inches wide, four inches 
long and three-fourths of an inch thick at base. After nailing on the first clap- 
board, tack to each stud one of the wedges, allowing the thick end to hang" 
over the siding as much as the next board is to lap, and nail on the boards with 
ten-penny nails, and so continue until the sides are covered. This will give free 
ventilation, and entirely protect the grain from rain and sun, and besides make 
a very fine looking building. 

Another method. — Another mode is to side up and down regular crib 
style with strips one by two and a half inches, then nail a cleat one inch thick 
over this covering on the plate, and a second one at the bottom, but behind 
the latter put blocks once in a foot or two so that it shall be out from the build- 
ing about half an inch, then put on a second covering like the first, having the 
center of each strip exactly over the space between the others. 



348 HOW TO BUILD CORN CRIBS. 

The top of the last covering can be nailed with common nails, but at the bot- 
tom wrought nails should be used. Slip an ax head into the space left behind 
the cleat to make it firm while driving and to clinch the nails. This space left 
at the bottom between the two coverings is to prevent snow collecting there, or 
moisture being retained to rot the boards. 

Fixing" Over Corn Cribs. — I much prefer the first style given, but 
w^here cribs are already built in the usual way of boarding up and down, the 
second covering may be put on to save the grain from exposure to storms, sun 
and birds. If the crib has been ribbed lengthwise, as is sometimes the case, it 
w^ill pay to remove the covering and put it on as suggested heretofore. Hori- 
zontal covering gives lodgment for both snow and rain. If the plate cannot 
"be nailed to, girts can easily be put in. 

Any one who does not believe that corn is injured by exposure to weather, 
will be convinced of the importance of protecting it by tasting bread made from 
that which has lain a few months against the walls of a common open crib, and 
comparing it with bread made from corn that has not been so exposed. Then 
if the nutritious properties are lessened by exposure, corn becomes less valua- 
ble as a feed for stock. 

Corn Crib Steps. — Make steps, or stairs before the crib door, one end 
resting on the ground, and the other against the sill of the crib, then drive 
down two flat stakes, one on each side near the foot of the steps, having them 
extend but a few inches above the earth, having first bored a quarter inch hole 
through near the tops of the stakes ; then bore corresponding holes through 
the sideboards of the stairs and put in iron pins or bolts, thus forming hinges, so 
that the steps may be turned over and away from the crib, and replaced at will. 

Double Corn Crib. — A grain raiser contributes his plan for crib build- 
ing, which will commend itself to many : "I built a corn crib a few years ago, 
which I think, for convenience, has but few equals. It has never failed to keep 
■corn perfectly, and is likewise rat proof It can easily be filled without the or- 
dinary way of making doors in the roof, which are so difficult to make tight. 
The dimensions are as follows : 

" Length, thirty feet ; width, four feet at sills and five feet at plates, with a 
projection in the middle six feet long across the crib. The main posts are eight 
feet from top of sills to top of plates. The posts to the projection are six feet 
and two inches. 

" The sills are four by six, and should be of some durable wood, as they are 
exposed more to the weather than the rest of the frame. It stands upon seven- 
teen posts, set in the ground two and a half feet, resting on flat stones and 
twenty inches above ground, fixed in the usual way, with tin milk pans inverted 
over them, which should have the wire rims cut off, as rats sometimes catch by 
these and ascend. 

" The plates are three by seven inches ; the posts four by six inches. The 



HOW TO BUILD CORN CRIBS. 34^ 

size of the timber is immaterial ; some would not think mine large enough, but 
it answers all purposes. The roof is of twenty-inch cypress shingles, and 
extends a foot over the eaves. 

" The sides of the crib are of ribs two inches wide, put on up and down, just 
space enough to keep in the smallest ears. The middle part is covered with 
pine boards, with a door in one side. In filling the crib, loose boards are used 
to keep the corn in each end, leaving the middle space for shelling the corn and 
storing the cobs which are worth saving." 

Rat Proof Corn Crib. — A farmer, several years ago, gave the following^ 
to the New York Farmers' Club : 

" I have a com crib that has stood for twenty years, and has never had a rat,, 
and but one mouse in it, to my knowledge. Posts ten or eleven feet long, and 
eight inches square ; mortise two feet from one end ; for end-sills, two inch mor- 
tise with tusk. Taper post from sill to the end, by hewing off inside until the 
end is reduced to four inches diameter ; make smooth with draw-knife, and nail 
on tin smooth a few inches below the sill. 

"Let sills be eight inches square also; end tie them and the rafter plates 
strong with moderate inter-ties. Brace well, and lath up and down with three- 
quarter inch lath ; dovetail or countersink joists crosswise ; lay the floor, and 
board up the ends with ungrooved boards ; let each bent be twelve feet long, six 
feet wide at the sill, and seven and a half feet at plate ; and if full to the peak, 
it will hold 250 bushels. I never had an ear hurt on account of the great 
width. 

" If preferred, lay the floor with lath or narrow boards, with room for ventila- 
tion. Each post should stand on stone, about three inches from the ground, 
and each stone have a foundation two feet square, and, if possible, reach down 
below the frost." 

Wire Clotli L<iningr for Cribs. — I have seen cribs lined with wire 
cloth, and the idea seems to be a sensible one. It entirely prevents the entrance 
of rats or mice, gives plenty of ventilation, and the expense is not great. The 
cost does not exceed ten cents per square foot. 

To Measure a Crib. — Level the corn in the crib, measure the length, 
breadth and depth ; multiply them together, and deduct from the product 
one-fifth, and you have the number of bushels in the ear ; for shelled corn, take 
one-half. To be strictly correct, add a half bushel to every one hundred 
bushels the pile contains. 

Filling a Crib. — Where it is desirous to unload a wagon at the crib by 
use of the shovel, put a smooth board, about fourteen inches wide and six feet 
long into the box before filling, one end resting on the rear end board. Now, 
to unload, shovel down the incline plane until the bottom of the box is reached. 
In this way a load of corn may be cribbed and not an ear touched by the 
hand. 



350 WAGONS AND THEIR MANAGEMENT. 

WAGONS AND THEIR MANAGEMENT. 



Improved Farm Wagons. — A great improvement has been made in 
the construction of farm and road wagons within the past twenty years ; they 
are not now more than two-thirds as heavy as they were, and are much more 
tastily built, and when made by an experienced and honest workman, just as 
strong and durable. 

There is no use of killing a team hauling around a lumbersome vehicle, and 
people have found it out. The chief point is to have a wagon properly propor- 
tioned, well made, and of good material. 

Men have the same right to dictate when a wagon is being made for them as 
when getting a suit of clothes, and it is essential that they be posted in the 
matter. 

Proportions of a Wagon. — It is a true saying, that the strength of a 
wagon does not exceed its weakest point ; then, of course, the prominent feature 
in construction is perfect symmetry. For a two horse farm wagon to be used 
in the ordinary manner, the following dimensions are in good proportion : 

Wheels made upon ten inch hubs, four feet four inches high behind, and three 
feet eight inches in front, felloes two and one-fourth inches deep, inch and a 
half wide. Axletrees according to the spindle use, I prefer three and a quar- 
ter thimble skein. Bolsters three by four inches, four feet two inches full length, 
and three feet two inches between the stakes. Stakes fourteen inches high, 
measuring from the top or face of the bolster, and two and three-fourth inches 
wide at the shoulder. Reach eight feet long and four inches wide at front, and 
retaining the same width back until past the point where the hounds strike the 
sides ; from this, a taper to the end, which should be left two inches wide. 
Thickness, one and five-eighth inches. 

In the construction of the coupling, I would not have the hounds come 
together at the front ends and lie upon the top of the reach as the old style was, 
with a mortise through the axletree for the reach to slide in when " letting out " 
the gearing. With this arrangement there is always a clattering, and besides, 
the strength of the wagon is greatly impaired. Where an extension is required, 
use a false or splice reach. 

The front, or sway-bar hounds should be four feet long, two and one-half 
inches wide, and two inches thick. The sand board four feet long, three and a 
half inches wide, and three inches thick. Pole whole length, ten feet seven 
inches, and nine feet from hammer-hole to end. Size three by four inches at 
doubletree. Pole hounds two inches thick, and opened eighteen inches at back 
ends, and fourteen at front. Sway-bar three feet six inches long, two inches 
wide and two thick. Doubletree four and a half inches broad in the center, by 



WAGONS AND THEIR MANAGEMENT. 351 

three and one-fourth at the ends, two inches thick. If the whippletrees are 
three feet long, the doubletree should be four feet long. 

Size of IVag'on Box. — For a wagon of the size described, the box 
should be ten feet six inches long, thirteen or fourteen inches deep, and extend 
fifteen inches front of stakes. Four feet from each end should be put on side 
straps — I prefer them inside — and plank step-cleats under the bottom. These 
cleats are very important, as they greatly strengthen the wagon box. 

Shape of Wag"Oii Wheels. — Since it has become the fashion to use 
wheels with but very httle "dish " in them, the utility of wagons has lessened, 
and purchasers are the losers. For a Hght pleasure carriage, straight wheels 
may answer a good purpose, but upon farm and road wagons, either one or two 
horse, they are not the things. 

Very many people suppose that a dishing wheel is weaker than a straight 
one, and seriously argue against the former, and use the latter. I admit that a 
wheel may be too much dished, in fact, be spoiled in that way, but at the same 
time I know that a moderate amount is of great benefit. 

The question is often asked, Why don't wagons wear as long as they did 
thirty years ago ? And I answer, because nearly all the modern so-called im- 
provements have been a damage to the utility of wheels ; dodged spokes in place 
of the straight spokes, sawed and worked out by machinery, using bent in place 
of cut felloes on heavy wheels, and making wheels without proper dish. 

Importance of Dished Wheels. — Wheels that are made dishing will 
endure greater strain at the very time when strength in a wheel is required. If 
the wagon was always to be run upon a level road, a straight wheel would be 
as good as any ; but side-hills, slopes, uneven roads, are to be continually met 
with, and I can in no place so well locate a wagon as upon a sidHng road, to 
illustrate the advantages of a dishing wheel. 

Any teamster knows that when the wheels on one side of a wagon are lower 
than those on the other, the pressure of the load is upon the former, and if they 
are dishing, the spokes stand bracing, but if straight, the pressure would have 
a tendency to crush the wheels over, or weaken them to a degree corresponding 
to the weight upon them. 

Nearly the whole pressure that a wheel receives when in use, is to force the 
rim back or under the wagon. This you will see when a wagon slides from side 
to side ; of course, the upper side wheels are receiving some force in a contrary 
direction, or, in other words, an outward pressure, but be it remembered the 
load upon the wagon is thrown upon the lower side. 

Take two wheels, one straight and the other dishing, and place them upon 
the back ends of the hubs, then put weights upon the rims, and it will at once 
be seen that the dished wheel will stand nearly twice the pressure of the other. 

Taper of Wagon Axletree. — In the taper of an axletree the slope is 
nearly or quite all on the upper side ; that is, the under side of the axletree is 



352 WAGONS AND THEIR MANAGEMENT. 

left Straight, and the spindle tapered from its shoulder to end upon top side. 
This throws the wheel under. The breadth between the tops of the wheels is 
several inches more than the space between rims next to the ground, providing 
the wheels are not much dished. 

Now, were not the wheels dished at all, they would not be self-bracing, or 
were they straight, striking a hard substance at the outer surface or sliding 
with a load, they would be turned or cupped inward and spoiled. 

The object in throwing the wheel under in a wagon, is to counteract the dish 
that is sure to come after the tires have been reset once or twice, and make the 
rims throw mud away from the vehicle, when driving upon the road. 

How to I>i§li a Wheel. — It was the rule with many wagon makers^ 
years ago, when driving spokes, to set them front three-fourths of an inch, which 
would give, after the tire was set, about an inch and a half dish, which is 
altogether too much for a new wheel, but so far as strength and durability are 
concerned, preferable to one built straight. 

For a farm wagon, the spokes should be driven with one-fourth dish, so that 
about one-half inch will show after the tire is put on. 

A wheel made straight, and " brought over " by the tire, is positively damaged 
instead of being benefited, for the wheel is cramped out of its natural position, 
and will very soon show the effect of this treatment when put mto service. 

HoAV to Test Wieel Dish. — Sighting across a wheel, from the front 
surface of one side of the rim to the other, or by use of a straight-edge, does 
not give the correct dish of the wheel. The distance from the shoulder of the 
spoke at the hub, to the line drawn from rim to rim, minus the projection of 
the felloes over the front surface of the spokes, shows the pitch of the spoke or 
dish of the wheel. 

The remarks upon the construction of wheels are not based upon any floating 
theories, but upon my own observation, after a long experience at the bench as 
a wheelwright. 

Broad and Narrow Tires. — For farm use, broad tires upon wagons 
are very much better than narrow ones ; and if it is the design to have a wagon 
built for almost exclusive home work, I would advise the wide rim. 

The advantage consists in their being drawn with greater ease over soft soil 
when heavily loaded, and doing grass lands less injury than narrow tires, as 
they do not cut through or even break the sod, while the earth is wet and soft. 

Every farmer is aware of the injury done to his fields, both in spring and fall, 
by hauling out manure, moving fences, etc., over his pastures and meadows, by 
the use of common road wagons. 

If all the wheeled vehicles upon our pubhc highways were made with broad 
tires, they would be a decided benefit to the roads ; but as there is little pros- 
pect of their being universally adopted, I would not advise a wide rim on a 
common business wagon. So long as narrow tires are used, our roads will be 



WAGONS AND THEIR MANAGEMENT. 353 

cut up, and at some seasons of the year a broad tired wagon will run much 
harder than a common one. 

Og'lit Wagon Wliee!§. — A one horse wagon for all purposes I should 
make with tire one and one-fourth inches wide, and have the felloes one and 
three-fourths inches deep, and well rounded. Good rims are the main supports 
of wheels, and are usually made too light. 

A heavy tire is not profitable upon a light wheel, and will not make up the 
lack of wood. I would much prefer felloes, on a light wagon, to be one and 
three-fourths inches deep, with five-sixteenth tire, than inch and a half felloes 
with three-eighth tire. 

Double Sets of Wlieels. — If a farmer can afford it, two wagons may 
be kept — one tor the farm and the other for the road. If necessary to econo- 
mize, two sets of wheels may be kept for one set of axletrees, and put to the 
kind of use that is desired on different occasions. 

A good many farmers are now adopting the plan of having the wheels of an 
old or partly worn wagon cut down to about two-feet-ten and three-feet-two, 
and broad rims put on. In this way good, serviceable wagons are obtained 
with little expense, and those very convenient, as they are low, and easily loaded 
and unloaded. 

L<ow Wheeled Wag-oiis. — All who have used a saw mill truck with 
broad tires for hauling heavy loads when the ground is soft, have seen the ad- 
vantage of them for farm purposes over the common mch and a half rim of the 
lumber wagon. The former will pass over sod or soil without penetrating, 
while the other cuts a gutter wherever it moves, and so far as draft is concerned. 
It is evident that the broad tire has the advantage. 

As to extra expense, the difference between inch and a half and four-inch tire 
would be but little. The common sized two horse wagon wheels are three-feet- 
eight, and four-feet-four inches high, requiring over fifty feet in length of tire, 
when for wheels two-feet-eight and three-feet-two inches, but about thirty-five 
feet of tire would be used, and besides three eighths in thickness would do as 
well for the broad as five eighths for the narrow. 

A low wheeled wagon is much more handy for loading and unloading, and 
any one will be convuiced of the fact after using one for awhile. It is hard 
work to lift a box or hay rack over four feet high every time a change is made, 
or to put on a load of wood, stone, dirt or manure, with a box at that elevation. 

£xtra Wagon WTieel§. — Where it is desired to have both a high 
wheeled and truck wagon, the most economical plan is to get tv/o extra 
wheels made six inches lower than the common forward ones ; then the hind 
wheels may be laid away at any time, and the front ones put upon the back 
axle, and the smallest in their places. 

Resetting Wagon Tirefs. — When it is necessary to have the tires upon 
the wheels reset, it is better to take the vehicle some distance to a man who 



354 WAGONS AND THEIR MANAGEMENT. 

makes wagon ironing a business, than to have it done near home by a horse 
shoer and general jobber. Not one country blacksmith in a dozen is well up 
in the art of tire setting. 

The setting of tire, which should always be governed by fixed rules, is, with 
the great bulk of blacksmiths, governed by guess work. One says one-fourth of 
an inch draw is enough, another wants three-eighths of an inch, others less ; 
few of them ever mention the required opening in the felloes. Some have a 
graduating scale for different sized felloes, making the draft from three-eighths 
to one-half inch ; in this they are not governed by the size of the wheels, but by 
the size of the felloes and the tire. It is not to be wondered at, that with this 
guess rule, wheels so soon give out. 

If the spokes are tight in the hub, the tire cannot affect them, and the whole 
strain must come upon the rim, and if any more strain or " draw " is given the 
tire than is necessary to bring the felloe up snug at the ends, and down to the 
shoulders of the spokes, the wheel will be injured by the spokes springing, and 
the felloes upsettmg or bulging at the weakest points. 

Fitting- "Wlieei§ to Tire. — It is not unfrequently the case, that a black- 
smith in cutting and welding an old tire, will get it too small for the 
wheel, and an easier way out of the difficulty is found than heating and stretch- 
ing the iron. Instead of that he knocks the felloes apart at one of the joints, 
and saws off a piece, lessening the circumference of the rim to conform to the 
tire. The result is, the spokes are cramped and the wheel dished, perhaps to 
an unsightly extent. When having tire reset, watch for these things, and em- 
phatically oppose the imposition. 

Of course, if a wheel is felloe-bound a piece should come out. A good black- 
smith will notice such a defect at once, and remedy it before he measures it for 
cutting the tire. The farmer can tell himself when a wheel is rim-bound, for there 
will be spaces all around between the shoulders of the spokes and the felloes. 

Time for Setting Tire. — It is not a good plan to have tire reset in an 
extremely hot and dry time, for expansion will take place in the wood when 
cold and wet, while contraction will take place in the iron and result in the tire 
being too tight, and the whole will suffer thereby. The best time for having 
tire set is in summer, and nearly all the resetting should be done then, and upon 
a cool, damp day. 

Experiments have proven that wrought iron is influenced by the temperature 
to considerable extent. Then if tire is set up snug, and no more, on a cool sum- 
mer day, no harm will come from the change of season ; but if the draw given 
is sufficient to crush the fiber of the wood, damage can but be the result. After 
setting, the tire should be bolted on. The old saying, " that when a tire is loose 
enough to run off, it ought to come off," is not a good theory to follow. 

Plank Runner§ for ^Wagons. — Sometimes it happens that one is far 
away from home with a wheeled vehicle when a heavy snow storm comes on. 



WAGONS AND THEIR MANAGEMENT. 355 

making it difficult to proceed. Under such circumstances it is necessary to im- 
provise some means of converting the wagon into a sled. 

When there is room for carrying the wheels upon the body of the \'ehicle, the 
cheapest and most effectual plan is to take two planks, a foot wade, more or 
less, ten or twelve feet long, and after rounding up one end of each, cut notches in 
the top edges for the axletrees to sink their full depth into ; then frame in a couple 
of cross beams to hold the runners in place and the vehicle is ready to move. 

No great skill is required in doing the work. The planks can be shaped with 
an ax ; the axletree notches made by sawing two kerfs down four or five 
inches, and as far apart as the axletree is wide, and knocking out the pieces. 
The cross beams may be put in by boring auger holes and fitting in poles, 
small rails or scantling, with shoulders on inside of runners, and pins through 
the projections on the outside. 

Pole Runners for a Wagon. — Where it is not convenient to carry the 
wheels when off the axletree, or to obtain planks, pole runners may be used. 
Secure two saplings of some timber that will bend, dress off two sides, and 
mark the spots where the wheels are to rest. The butts of the poles should be 
forward. If the big ends are not front, the saplings must be brought to a w^dth 
the whole length. Runners which are narrower in front than behind are often 
ver\^ hard on the team, especially so when running in frozen sled tracks. 

When the places for the wheels are marked, grooves must be cut for them to 
stand in, and the poles shaved down in front so as to bend. The run- 
ners are fastened to the wheels by boring holes through them and winding 
stout iron wire many times around the felloes and through the holes in the run- 
ners, the bent ends in front being fastened in the same way. 

Double Runners for a Wagon. — The following has been described 
as a very effectual way of converting a wagon or carriage into a vehicle that will 
glide over the snow easily : Two pieces of hard wood board are used for each 
wheel. Cut each two and a half feet long and six inches wide, and dress off the 
corners for runners, precisely as if going to make a boy's board-runner sled. 
After the corners of one edge are rounded or curved like runners, one wheel of 
the vehicle is raised two inches from the floor or ground, and these two board 
runners bolted with three carriage bolts to the lowest spot on the rim of the 
wheel, one board runner being on each side of the rim. 

Use carriage bolts about three and a half inches long by three-eighths square 
at the head. One bolt is put through so as to rest on the upper side of the rim, 
while two other bolts pass through below the rim, near the ends of the board 
runners, close to the outside of the wheel. Two board runners are bolted in 
the same manner to each wheel. A small scanthng or stick is then secured 
back of the hindmost springs, with each end resting between two spokes of each 
hind w'heel, to prevent the wheels turning around. The fore wheels are fast- 
ened with a similar piece of timber, about two inches square. 



356 WAGONS AND THEIR MANAGEMENT. 

To make a Board Wagon Seat. — Take a hard wood board about a. 
foot wide and three feet to three feet three inches long, and bevel one edge and 



SHAPE OF END BOARD FOR WAGON SEAT. 



the two ends to the same pitch. To do this well, a carpenter's bevel is needed. 
Take boards six inches wide for ends, of soft wood ; cut one end square, the 
other beveling to correspond with bevel of bottom board. An inch and a half 
from beveled end, at same angle, saw board half off on flat surface, and by a 
gauge-mark cut out the one-half. Now tack end pieces with bevels to match 
edge of bottom board, and scribe in a back board eight inches wide. Take 



SHAPE OF BACK BOARD FOR WAGON SEAT. 



apart, shape the pieces as illustrated, and put together to stay. Do not saw end 
pieces to correspond to width of bottom board until the back has been fitted in. 
The shape of back and end as illustrated will be found easy to make, and will 
look very well when finished. 

Cheap Sprmg Seat. — A very comfortable seat for a single person to oc- 
cupy, when riding upon a lumber wagon, may be made by using two boards 
long enough to cross the box, with cleats between them. The lower board 
should be ten or more inches wide, three-quarters of an inch thick ; the upper 
one same width, half an inch thick. By having two cleats, inch and a half thick 
between the ends, a very comfortable seat is afforded. Nail or screw two small 
cleats on under side of bottom board at points just outside or inside the wagon 
box, to prevent the seat slipping. 

£xtra Wagon Sox. — It is just as important that 'a farmer have two 
boxes for his wagon as that he have two suits of clothes. No wagon can be 
kept in condition to make a respectable appearance upon the road, when one 
box is used for all kinds of work. The second box, for farm use, can be made 
at home by any one of ordinary mechanical genius, and as an aid to the work, 
take dimensions from the one belonging to the wagon as a guide. 



WAGONS AND THEIR MANAGEMENT. 357 

To Make a Wagon Box. — The first thing to be done is fitting in the 
bottom boards. Cut them a few inches longer than the box is to be when fin- 
ished, and saw off the ends after the whole is put together. Do not try to 
economize by using less than six good side straps, or going without rods, for 
the box will soon become so loose and rickety as to be a constant annoyance. 

jTIaterial for Wagon Box. — Basswood is the best material, all things 
■considered, for wagon boxes. It is tough, light, and if kept dry, very durable. 
Elm does very well for bottom boards, if the right kind of elm is selected, there 
being a great difference in the timber going under the name of white or water 
elm. 

We have in some of our forests, quite common, a tree which is called chest- 
nut elm, but not generally distinguished from the common water elm, so very 
similar is it in appearance. The wood of this tree very much resembles that ot 
the chestnut ; it is firm in grain, and will not warp more than basswood. 

Beech is sometimes used for wagon boxes. It is durable, but too heavy to 
recommend. Pine makes a light, nice box, but is more expensive in some lo- 
calities than most other lumber, and not as durable as basswood, on account 
•of its being so easily bruised and chipped off. 

Ironing Top of Wagon Box. — It pays well to iron the top of a good 
box, as it will add much to its utility by protecting it from being marred up by 
horses gnawing, or bruises from loading and unloading articles, and the wear of 
the seat hooks. 

Never use thin flat irons, but oval of the same width the side boards are in 
thickness, and put them on by inserting inch and a half screws eight inches 
apart. A set of top irons of this kind will last a lifetime, and may be transferred 
from an old box to a new one when desired. 




WAGON SHOWING TOP BOX. 



Top Box for Wagon. — For grain and fruit hauling, a top box is of great 

•convenience. It can be easily made with stationary end boards, and held in 
place by cleats and staples. The cleats should be of hard wood, and fastened 
by wrought nails to the top box outside, and long enough to extend down the 
wide box, passing through two iron staples. There should be four cleats on 
€ach side. Some put the staples and cleats on the inside, but the plan i? not 



358 WAGONS AND THEIR MANAGEMENT. 

commendable, for the irons will tear bags and mangle fruit or vegetables carried 
in the box. The top box should be painted to correspond with the box below it. 

Wag-on Box Platforin. — By spending two hours labor preparing a 
platform in the wagon shed, a box may be easily put off and on, compared to 
the usual mode of lifting the whole from the ground. Put up a frame work 
each side of where the wagon stands, and the same height of the stakes. One 
box may be lifted up and slid off on to one platform, and the one upon the 
other dropped into place. This is a much better way than swinging them up. 

Manure Box for Wagon, — For drawing manure, dirt, etc., rough 
boards put between the stakes loose answer a good purpose ; but for drawing 
stone, sand, wood, corn, and many other things, a good box is needed. 

Injuring Paint of Wagon, — Manure, if allowed to dry upon paint, 
will injure it more than almost any other substance, and should be washed off 
as soon as the wagon is taken from the barn-yard. In hot weather, when the 
wagon is to be used for this work several days in succession, it is policy, if time 
can be spared, to take a broom and pail of water and remove the adhering par- 
ticles every night. 

When to Paint Wagons, — During winter, while the sled is in use, 
farm wagons should be overhauled and painted. A coat of paint applied at 
this time will be much more durable than one put on in the spring, when the 
vehicle has to be put to use soon after receiving the new dress. 

There is a right and wrong way to do everything, and it is as much of a me- 
chanical operation to paint a wagon as it should be, as to do any other common 
job in the workshop. 

Preparing Wagon to Paint. — In the first place, the wagon should be 
thoroughly washed and the rough spots made smooth, but no putty should be 
used until after the first coat is applied, unless there is a good body of paint 
upon the wood, and only one dressing is to be given. Red lead is a good 
finishing material for wheels and gearing. 

Use but very Httle spirits of turpentine or naphtha, not more than a teaspoon- 
ful to a pint of the paint, but use about one gill of japan as a drier. Turpen- 
tine makes paint spread easily, and for this purpose it is used, but it has a tend- 
ency to deaden the paint and makes it less durable. 

Colors for Painting a Wagon. — There is no paint more durable 
than a mixture of red and white lead ; but color is a matter of taste, and every 
man should select that which suits him best. 

Cream color, peach blow and red are very common and very appropriate. If 
the wagon is to be red, if not now well painted, give three coats ; for first, use 
one part red and two parts white lead ; second coat, equal parts of each, or 
else reverse the first, and the last coat all red lead. 

If a lighter shade is desired, use more of the white and less of the red. If a 
straw or cream color is chosen, use no red lead, but shade with chrome yellow ; 



WAGONS AND THEIR MANAGEMENT. 359 

use the best raw linseed oil. As to mixing the material, see chapter under 
head of " Paints and Painting." 

How to Paint a Wagon. — When painting a wagon or carriage, begin 
the work by painting the back side of the wheel first, and finish up on the front. 
Paint the wheels before touching the gearing, then begin and coat all between 
the axletrees, and finish up on outside of rear and front. 

There are two or three rules necessary to be followed in painting : One is 
always finish up on the face side, or that part most exposed to view, and the 
second to paint from top downward ; then if any spots are made by paint drop- 
ping they appear upon an unfinished surface, and of course are removed when 
the job is completed. 

Do not be afraid to apply paint plentifully to such parts as absorb well ; the 
greatest possible amount should be worked in between the felloes and tire ; it 
opposes the penetration of water, and thus in connection with its adhesive 
qualities prevents the tires getting loose. 

For the box of a wagon cheaper material may be used. Venetian red 
changed to a rich brown or mahogany color by the use of a little lampblack, is 
an excellent preparation. This color makes a good contrast with red. Paint 
the inside of the body a dark lead color, made of white lead and a little lamp- 
black. 

To Stripe a Wagon, — To stripe a wagon nicely requires practice ; but 
any one can blacken the irons if he so chooses. For this take a small brush, and 
use lampblack oil and a Httle varnish ; a good proportion would be three parts 
oil and one part varnish. Where striping is to be done, all of the irons should 
be painted the same as the wood. 

Oreasing Wagons. — But few people are aware that they do carriages 
and wagons more injury by greasing too plentifully than in any other way. A 
well made wheel will endure common wear from ten to twenty-five years if 
care be taken to use the right kind and proper amount of grease ; but if this 
matter is not attended to they will be used up in five or six years. 

Lard should never be used on a wagon, for it will penetrate the hub and 
work its way out around the tenons of the spokes and spoil the wheel. Tallow 
is the best lubricator for wood axletrees, and castor oil for iron. 

Just enough grease should be applied to the spindle of a wagon to give it a 
light coating ; this is better than more, for the surplus put on will work out at 
the ends, and be forced by the shoulder bands and nut washers into the hub 
around the outside of the boxes. 

To oil an iron axletree, first wipe the spindle clean with a cloth wet with 
spirits of turpentine, and then apply a few drops of castor oil near the shoulder 
and end. One teaspoonful is enough for the whole. 

Compound Wagon Orease. — An axle grease that can be easily made, 
and one that is said to work alike well upon heavy wooded or iron axles, is 



360 WAGONS AND THEIR MANAGEMENT. 

made of five ounces of tallow, four ounces of good lubricating oil, six ounces of 
water, one-half ounce each of soda and potash, and one-half pound of plumbago. 

Dissolve the potash and soda in the water; melt the tallow and mix it with 
the oil, and pour in the water, stirring it until the grease is cut ; as soon as pos- 
sible, after the water is added, turn in the plumbago. It should be stirred until 
the whole mass is thoroughly mixed. 

L<eng'tli§ of Axletree§. — Axletrees are not made of uniform length, there 
being a variation of some four inches, ranging from three feet eight inches to 
four feet , and in the second place, should they be made of exactly one width 
between the shoulders, the tread of the wheels on different wagons and car- 
riages would not be alike. Supposing that all axletrees were made just four 
feet between the shoulders, carriages with six inch hubs, and wagons with ten 
inch hubs, would have a difference in tread of four inches. 

Again, wagon makers differ in their opinion as regards the pitch of axletrees, 
some leaving them straight on the bottom, others giving them a taper of from 
one-eighth to one-fourth of an inch, which very materially changes the tread. 
Again, there is a wonderful difference made by the dish of wheels, sometimes 
ten or twelve inches. 

Let any person go into a promiscuous collection of wagons and carriages, 
and with a rod measure the distance between the tread of old, new, heavy and 
light wheeled vehicles, and they will at once be convinced that there is no sort 
of uniformity. 

Further than this, so long as one and two horses are used upon our dirt roads, 
there will be broad wheel tracks formed of a necessity. A team leaves a ridge 
between the beaten tracks, and a single horse will not travel upon this, and 
consequently makes a variation in the running place of the wheels. Any one 
who has driven a single horse upon rutty highways has noticed this. 

Liglit Iron Axletrees. — For buggies and carriages, a good wrought iron 
axletree, so constructed that the greatest possible amount of strength can be 
obtained with the least possible amount of weight, is best. 

For light and heavy wagons, the thimble skein, if well set, I prefer, and next 
to this the wooden axletree, with crotch skeins in iron boxes. Iron axletrees on 
lumber wagons are liable to become bent by bearing heavy loads, and but a 
sixteenth of an inch out of set is required to make a wagon run hard. 

Hepairiiig: ISrokeii Axletrees. — A correspondent has furnished the 
following, which may be of benefit to some one who breaks down miles away 
from a repair shop: "If the axletree arm is broken entirely off at the hub, re- 
move the load, block up the axletree an inch or two higher at the broken end 
than at the other ; then procure a piece of tough rail or a piece of a small tree 
.-ibout four feet long, and dress off one end tapering with an ax, for an axle arm, 
so that it will fit the hole in the hub, and lash the piece to the broken axletree 
with rope or wire. 



WAGONS AND THEIR MANAGEMENT. 361 

"If rope is used, after it has been drawn up as tight as practicable, let two 
or three wedges be driven under it, and then wet it thoroughly.' The rope, by- 
contracting, will hold the temporar}- axle arm with sufficient firmness to enable 
the teamster to proceed with his load. 

" In case no bit is at hand to bore a hole for a linch pin, cut a groove around 
the axle arm near the extremity, or drive a nail through, and wind pieces of rope 
or twine around the arm until a ridge is formed of sufficient size to hold the 
wheel from running off. 

" Should the axletree give way near the middle, rather than at one of the arms, 
fit a piece of scantling or stout rail beneath it, letting the piece extend from 
-wheel to wheel, and lash the ends of the axletree near the wheels." 

Even if it is necessary to ride several miles to obtain a piece of rope and an 
ax before one can make the necessaiy repairs, it will be far more satisfactory 
no do so than to procure another vehicle, transfer the load, and afterward return 
for the broken one. In case a wheel were to break down, a man who is half a 
mechanic can easily fix a piece of plank beneath the hub, which will slide 
•on the ground like a runner for several miles. 

Portable Wheel Jack. — Take a piece of two inch plank six inches 
\vide and two or three feet long, and set it by tenon and mortise in a short, but 
wider piece ; brace it on each side if necessary. Cut out a piece one or two 
inches wide from the top, and half way down the upright timber. If there is 
any danger of splitting, put on a cleat across the top, which will hold it securely. 

Put a lever in this slot, and fasten with an iron adjustable pin. The short 
-end projecting beyond the upright may easily be applied to the axle, which may 
be raised by a slight pressure on the long arm, 

A small chain fastened to the pedestal or the perpendicular will hold the lever 
in any given position by hitching a link to a hook in the lever. It is a simple 
and efficient jack for common use. 

A Temporary Wagon Jack. — Take two pieces of boards two or more 
feet long; place one board at front of the wheel, one end on the ground and the 
other just under one of the spokes, close up to the felloe ; then take hold of a 
spoke on the opposite side of the wheel and lift ; at the same time place the 
second board under the axletree. In this way a loaded wagon may be lifted 
with ease. 

Toiigue Pressure. — Where this occurs in any machine or vehicle, it may 
sometimes be remedied by changing the hammer strap from the upper to the 
under side of the tongue. To do this it is necessary to use a screw bolt and 
hut, or have a substantial key in the lower end of the bolt, to keep the evener in 
its place. Small mules, when used to an ordinary wagon, should always draw 
from the under side of the tongue. 

General Care of "VVag-oiis. — Keep wagons housed when not in use. 
Keep them well painted and wash frequently. Whenever you leave a wagon 



362 DOUBLETREES AND WHIPPLETREES. 

heavily loaded to stand a number of hours, put a support under the axletree. 
The strength of wood cannot be estimated by what it will support for a short 
time. Constant pressure will show damaging- effect after awhile. Wagons are 
abused very generally by overloading ; if the axletrees do not break, they are 
sprung and the wheels warped, which causes the vehicle to run hard and short- 
ens its existence. 

Oil for Felloes. — There is economy in soaking the felloes of wagon 
wheels with raw linseed oil. It will preserve the wood and save the necessity 
of frequent tire-setting. 

A mechanic writes : " I ironed a wagon some years ago, for my own use. 
Before putting on the tires, I filled the felloes with linseed oil, and the tires have 
worn out and were never loose. My method is as follows : I used a long cast 
iron heater made for the purpose ; the oil is brought to a boiling heat, the 
wheel is placed on a stick, so as to hang in the oil, each felloe an hour. The. 
timber should be dry, as green timber will not take oil. 

" Care should be taken that the oil is not made hotter than boiling heat, or 
the timber will be burned. Timber filled with oil is not susceptible of injury by 
water, and is rendered much more durable by this process." 



DOUBLETREES AND WHIPPLETREES. 



A Coniinon Doubletree. — This can be made as well at the home 
workshop as at the bench of a wheelwright, by aid of the following suggestions : 

Dimensions of Doubletrees. — For heavy work the doubletree should 
be two inches thick and four and a half inches broad in the center, and three 
and one-fourth wide at the ends. A doubletree is not so stout when the taper 
is all made upon the back side, nor does it look as well as when tapered upon 
both sides. The length of it should be determined by the length of the whipple- 
trees. Where the latter are three feet long, the former should be four feet in 
length. A tough piece of oak makes the best doubletree used ; however, good 
qualities of ash and hickory answer well. 

The holes for the clevises should be about three inches from the ends, and 
bored as far back from the center of the stick as the irons will allow. 

Draw IStaple for Doubletrees. — Have a staple go through the center 
to draw by, made of Swedes iron, and held by two nuts on the front, with a 
plate of iron under the nuts extending from one to the other. The staple on 
the back side should be heavy, because all the wear comes at this place, but the 
parts that go through the wood are usually twice as large as necessary. No- 
strain can come on these parts except straight draft, and no span of horses can 
pull in twain two rods of iron five-sixteenths in size. If large staples are used;. 



DOUBLETREES AND WHIPPLETREES. 



363^ 



the strength is taken from the wood. If the doubletree is to be used upon a 
wagon or sled pole, bore the pin or hammer hole well in front of the center. 

It is a good plan to have a staple in the doubletree belonging to the wagon,, 
for there are many times when a chain has to be used to move some object, and 
to wind this around the doubletree injures it, and besides, a team cannot be 
made to draw true, as the point of draft cannot be kept in the center. 

Fiiii§liiiig^ Off a Doubletree. — The best form of finish for a double- 
tree is oval edges and flat sides. To make this nice, first chamfer the cor- 
ners — leaving the corners on for some four inches, where the clevis is appHed — 
then with a light draw shave, cut away the chamfer corners lightly on the 
edges, and file to a true oval. Do not round off the chamfer corners on the flat 
side. Round the ends same as sides to a true oval and definite finish on flat 
side. 




DOUBLE EVENER FOR THREE HORSES. 



Three-Horse Evener. — There are several ways of making a tripletree;. 
or three-horse evener, but the simple form has proven to be as good as any. The 
best way to get the measure for the long bar is to lay the double and whipple- 




SINGLE EVENER FOR THREE HORSES. 



trees to be used down upon the floor ; then place a third whippletree at the end 
in row with the other two, so that the ends of all are same distance apart. 

Now lay down the piece of plank from which the long bar is to be made, and 
mark the places where the center clevis of the doubletree comes, also the place 



364 DOUBLETREES AND WHIPPLETREES. 

where the clevis of the whippletree comes ; then mark exactly back of the center 
whippletree where the clevis of the big bar is to come to be attached to the 
plow. The single whippletree should have a chain attached to bring it out even 
with the other two. The whippletrees should be of even length. The illustra- 
tion will give a clear idea of the method of making. 

Another Style. — Another and very good way to make a plow-tree, is to 
lay down three whippletrees of even length ; then mark off where the clevises 
come, and attach the whippletrees to the long bar, without the use of any double- 
tree. Have the center clevis in the middle, or so as to come directly in front of 
the plow beam. In hitching on the horses, use the tallest animal in the center 
and cross the tugs, as represented in the engraving. Both traces of neither one 
of the horses will pull upon the same whippletree, and the taller horse being in 
the center, the tugs will not chafe much. 

I^qualizing Tripletree. — A correspondent tells how he makes a 
three-horse evener to be used where the horses are of unequal strength. Where 
one horse can pull one-fourth more than either of the other two of the span, 
they being of equal strength, he would take an evener fifty-two inches between 
outside holes. Hitch the plow fifteen and a half inches from the right hand hole. 

Hitch one of the span to the left end, and to the right end attach an evener 
thirty-six inches between outside holes, so divided as to give the strongest 
horse, who walks in the furrow, fifteen and a half inches, and the second of the 
span, who goes in the middle, twenty and a half. By varying the distance be- 
tween the holes it can be arranged to suit horses of any relative strength. 

Layings Out a H^hippletree. — In laying out a stick, from which a 
whippletree is to be made, the size and kind of irons to be used upon it should 
be the first consideration. If the draw iron is a clasp, the center of the stick 
need not be as large as where a staple is put through the center. 

Dress out the stick on two sides only, the whole length, and as thick as it is 
to be in the center — from an inch and a half to an inch and three-quarters are 
the common thicknesses for hea\7 whippletrees — then strike a line on one side 
through the center from end to end ; lay out the width in the center, and at the 
«nds according to the sizes of the irons , draw two more lines from center to 
ends, then work off the sides and the stick is ready to be rounded up. 

HoAV to Round a Wliippletree. — To do the rounding, chamfer all 
the corners, planing them true, then with a draw shave and file finish to a true 
oval. Never attempt to work out a whippletree with no other guide than the 
eye, for it will require a great expenditure of time and be unsightly when fin- 
ished. 

Length of Whippletree§. — The common length for vehicles is two 
feet ten inches ; plow whippletrees should not be more than twenty-six or thirty 
inches, or as short as they can be and not make the tugs chafe the horses' 
sides. 



THE NECK YOKE. ^ 365 

Best Timber for VFliippletrees.— - Tough hickory is the most suita- 
ble timber for these implements ; white oak and ash are second best, but of 
whatever kind, the wood should be thoroughly seasoned. It is a good plan to 
split out material from choice timber and lay it up for future use. When sea- 
soned or nearly so, dress the sticks out into suitable shape and of different sizes 
to correspond with the different irons in use, and this will greatly facilitate the 
making repairs when in a hurry. 

Ironing Wlitppletrees. — The draw iron in the center should clasp the 
whole wood. Never use on a draft whippletree what is called plug hooks — 
those that drive or screw into the end. The ferrule hook is much better, z. «?., 
hook and ferrule made together of wrought iron ; but better than this will it be- 
to use what is called clasp and safety hooks. 

Any blacksmith knows how to make them. They are of one piece of iron ; 
the hook so curled that the tugs will never unhook themselves. If ironed as 
last proposed, make the woods inch and one-half by two and a half in the cen- 
ter, one inch and one-eighth broad at the ends, by one inch thick — make a true 
taper ; oval the sides, leaving a flat surface three-fourths of an inch wide on 
front and back for the clasp irons. Usually whippletrees made after this style 
are left too large at the ends, and have a bungling appearance. Making them 
small at these places does not weaken the implement. 



THE NECK YOKE. 



Timber for Xeck Yoke. — Hickory, white ash and oak make the best 
neck yokes. White ash is the least trusty, for it is more likely to become spalt 
or brittle than either of the others. The heart of oak is good, but after years 
of experience in a repair shop, I proved second growth hickory to be best of all. 
Sometimes the neck yoke is subject to heavy strain, as holding a big load when 
going down a steep hill, and a breakage at such a time is likely to prove disas- 
trous. 

Ironing: a BiTeck Yoke. — In ironing a neck yoke, the purpose should be 
to weaken the wood as little as possible, therefore, two staples to hold the pole- 
ring are better than one. One staple, for the purpose of strength, is liable to 
be made so large as to cut away at least one-fourth of the timber in passing 
through. Two staples set a few inches apart, may be quite small, if made of 
Swedes iron. For market wagons, the neck yoke should be turned with two 
beads at the center, a few inches apart, and the pole-holder be made of good 
harness leather. There is no rattle to such an arrangement, and all the strength 
of the wood is left. 



366 . CONSTRUCTION OK FARM SLEDS. 

Leiig^tli of Neck Yoke. — No one part of a wagon varies more in length 
than this. No particular dimensions will be given here, but there should always 
be a uniformity between the length of the neck yoke and the doubletrees and 
whippletrees ; i. e., where the latter are long, the former should be long also, 
with a short neck yoke and long gearing for the tugs, the horses are pulling at 
an angle and are compelled to travel somewhat sideways, which is a disagreea- 
ble position. Thus hitched, a spirited horse will chafe and fret all day, when if 
he could draw straight ahead he would work quietly. 

Where two lengths of doubletrees and whippletrees are used, there should be 
two lengths of neck yokes also. The heavier the load to be drawn, the more 
distressing becomes the variance in lengths mentioned above. 



CONSTRUCTION OF FARM SLEDS. 



Length of a Sled. — As to the length of a sled, no exact number of feet 
and inches can be given that would suit the masses of farmers, for those used 
for different purposes are made of different lengths. There is, however, one 
prevailing fault, and that is, not making them as long as they should be. 

Every farmer "has, no doubt, noticed that when drawing logs, or "sled-length 
wood," the greater portion of the load comes upon the hindmost beam. Logs 
for the saw mill, twelve or fourteen feet long, have to be loaded so far forward 
that damage is very likely to result ; the pressure of the log coming so heavy 
upon the pole that it is broken when turning around, or the sled chances to 
drop into a hollow. 

Width, of a Sled. — The sled should be made the same width between the 
stakes as that of the wagon kept, so one wood rack or box may be used for 
both, and only one place of storage required for these when out of use. 

If a wagon box is three feet and three inches wide, and the sled, made but 
three feet two inches between the stakes, it is not conveniently kept on ; and if 
t1ie wagon box is narrower than the sled, the same trouble arises. Even if 
there are to be boxes made for both, I would still have them the same width as 
above suggested, for wood racks, manure boxes, etc., may as well be used on 
either as the case demands. 

Height of a Sled. — Use deep beams ; it is but little more work to load 
a log upon a sled twenty inches high, than one fifteen, and the high sled will be 
found much more convenient when passing around in the woods. 

Timher for a Sled. — Oak, beach and white ash make the best runners. 
Hickory splits too easily, unless very tough. Red elm is best for beams, and 



CONSTRUCTION OF FARM SLEDS. 367 

tough white oak for pins. Sugar, or hard maple, makes excellent shoes, but 
the timber should be seasoned before used. Hickory makes the best roller. 
The tongue should be of ash, oak or hickor)\ 

Leiigtli of Sled Pole. — The pole should be nine feet long from the 
doubletree to the end, and the doubletree set as far back as it can be, and not 
be liable to hit the end of the runner when in use. The closer a team is to a 
load the better, providing the animals have free use of their limbs. A good 
rule is to set the doubletree eight inches front of a line from the front of one 
runner to another. 

The cheapest and best pole is made by framing it into the center of the roller 
and bracing it with seven-eighths round rod. Square iron should never be used 
for braces in this place, for if anything should occur to bring the horses upon 
th'em, serious damage might result. 

HoAV to Set a Sled Roller. — Another important thing in the con- 
struction of a sled is, putting the roller into the runners at the proper point. If 
the roller is set too high, the draft is downward ; if too low, the sled is lifted. 
In either case the draft is not direct from the seat of the load, and much more 
power is required to move a load than is absolutely necessary. Set the roller 
on a line with the upper side of the beams. 

Raves for tlie Sled. — Put broad raves on any sled you make. Have 
them extend from end of beam two inches inside of the beam pins. The ad- 
vantages are numerous. They afford a good place for the driver to stand when 
a heavy load is being moved ; they help form a broad platform when the sled is 
used without a box ; they prevent the ends of the beams catching upon trees 
while in the woods or protruding objects anywhere ; and they, as first stated, 
protect the beams from being split out from pressure upon the stakes. 

Inch and one-eighth is about the right thickness for one-horse sleds, and inch 
and a half for heavy sleds. The raves should be of tough timber. Do not 
nail or bolt the plank down to the beams — fasten in no other way than by the 
pins, as with narrow raves, for the utility of a sled depends considerably upon 
the freedom it has to give when passing over uneven ground. 

Protecting Sled Raves. — To prevent the plank raves being split by the 
stakes, either put through long bolts from edge to edge, or screw curved plates 
of iron on the surface, circling the stake holes. The latter mode I prefer, as it 
does not have the tendency to weaken the raves as the first. 

The iron plates should be bent after the manner of a horse shoe, and old, 
thin shoes are well adapted to the place if the corks are taken off and screw 
holes punched through. Nailing on is not a sufficient security, and horse shoes 
should never be used in this place until they have passed through the hands of 
a blacksmith. 

Sloping* Sled Raves. — After the rave is well pinned on and fastened to 
the runners in front, taper off the plank from the outer edge of the runner to 



368 CONSTRUCTION OF FARM SLEDS. 

the edge of the first beam, and round the edge off a little ; this will give a slid- 
ing surface that will throw the sled around when it comes in contact with any- 
solid object. 

Stake IIole§ in Sleds. — The stake holes should not be bored until the 
raves have been fastened on ; then drive the auger down through rave and 
beam, unless the beams are very narrow. In that case, it will be better to bore 
through the raves close beside the beams, and then put a couple of iron staples 
into the beam sides, one in the center and the other near the base. The staples 
should be made square, and the holes through the rave mortised out to corre- 
spond. For stakes, use tough oak or hickory. 

Painting' a Sled. — When the wagon box is used upon the sled for mar- 
keting, etc., the color of paint should be such as will correspond well. It need 
not be the same, for the gearing of a wagon is seldom the same as the box. 

Where no regard is to be paid the box, common yellow ochre, wet up with 
raw oil, makes a good coating for coarse sleds ; but if any one is opposed to the 
color, the shade may be varied by the use of Venetian red. Add to each pint of 
the paint one gill of Japan, to make it set and dry good. 

As to painting the entire sled, there is but little benefit further than appear- 
ance goes, as it is brushed away by crusted snow, or is bruised off by rough 
usage in loading and unloading wood, logs, etc. The oil that would penetrate 
from the paint, of course, would do a kittle good toward preserving the timber. 
The matter of appearance is all I take into consideration respecting the paint- 
ing of a heavy knock-about farm sled. 

I do not wish to be understood in saying that no paint at all is needed, for it 
certainly is. The pins should be driven in paint. The runners where the 
beams rest should be well coated, and also the tops of the beams beneath the 
raves. 

Fastening for Sled Box. — Put two staples on the insides of the side 
boards about three inches from the ends and two inches from upper and lower 
edges, then two in the end boards inside close to the ends, but some four inches 
from the edges, then by setting the end boards in so that they hit the staples 
of the side boards, a rod may be run down through all four staples and the 
whole bound together. By having holes in the bottom boards to correspond 
with the staples, the rod may be slipped into these, holding all in place. 

The staples may be either small and rounding and iron rods used, or square 
and tough pieces of hickory used for stays ; it is, however, necessary to have 
staples driven through the side and end boards, and firmly clinched, as consid- 
erable strain sometimes comes upon them. 

Of course, no cleats can be used when this plan is adopted. The only object 
in constructing a box in this manner is, that it may readily be taken to pieces 
when it is desired to do so. 

If the rod at the top is not bent at right angles so as to prevent it dropping- 



CONSTRUCTION OF FARM SLEDS. 369 

through the staples, the hole in the bottom boards should be bored only part 
way through, so as to give support to the iron. 

Homc-Made Bob Sled. — For some purposes, the bob sled is much to 
be preferred to the common two-runner sled. Bobs are not at all difficult to 
make. The American Agriculturist describes one that may be made without 
mortises or tenons, and with no iron except the shoes, king-bolt, and coupling 
clevises. To make such a sled requires only an auger and an ax, and a handy 
workman can easily complete one in a little time. 

The Bob Sled Runners. — " In the first place, select for runners small 
oak or sugar maple trees with a proper natural crook ; these, after being hewed, 
should not be less than three inches in thickness, and as deep as desired. 
Blocks are pinned on each runner to receive the cross-beams. The front beam 
should be about four inches thick, and the hind one about double that thick- 
ness. The beams and blocks are securely fastened to the runners by one and 
one-quarter inch hickory pins, thoroughly wedged at both ends." 

The Bob Sled Tongue. — " The tongues are fitted in with wooden 
wedges which come well up from the roller, and two and a half inch pins should 
be put through both the wedges and the tongue to keep them from working 
loose. This will make the tongue sufficiently rigid without braces, unless some 
careless teamster drives around too short sometimes, when the tongue is just 
as apt to break as to be wrenched from its place if well wedged." 

To Shoe a Bob Sled. — " In case the sleds are wanted shod, we would 
recommend cast steel shoes, one-eighth of an inch thick, to be put on with three 
inch wood screws, the holes being countersunk so that the screw heads may be 
quite flush with the shoe. A steel shoe is light and will not 'stick' in frosty 
weather, as a cast iron shoe will. 

" The writer has built such sleds and shod them with common band iron, 
one-eighth thick, which comes cheaper than the steel, and for ordinary use is 
nearly as good. But for heavy work, such as drawing logs, timber or lumber 
steadily every day, the steel shoes are the cheapest in the end." 

Care of Bob Sled. — '' These sleds are very durable if taken care of dur- 
ing the summer, and a coat of crude petroleum put on will increase their dura- 
bility. If made of well selected stuff, a pair of these sleds are good for five 
years, when probably they will need new pins or general repairs. There is no 
necessity to use seasoned lumber for making the sleds, as green timber just out 
of the woods will answer, as there are no joints to work loose. 

" Bob sleds, as sold in the markets, are frequently too high for handy use 
upon the farm. While they may serve with a light load upon a smooth road, 
yet, when taken to the woods to use in logging, they will soon be either much 
racked, or break down altogether, from being keyed up too tightly when built. 
The low, stout, home-made pair of bobs will be found much better for rough 
usage upon the farm." 



570 THE FIELD ROLLER. 

THE FIELD ROLLER. 



modes of Construction. — On the construction of rollers for the pur- 
pose of crushing clods or lumps upon plowed fields, I have obtained in addition 
to my own experience, by direct communication with good practical farmers, 
several styles of making this agricultural implement. 

A Plank Roller. — " I procured some two inch planks, twenty inches 
wide ; cut off two pieces forty inches long ; cut another plank, one and one-half 
inches thick, and spiked it on well across the two first pieces ; then struck a circle 
the full size, and dressed it smooth and round, and bored a hole in the center. 

" I made four like this, then took plank four inches wide and one and one- 
fourth thick (one and one-half would be better) ; cut them three feet long ; bev- 
eled the edges so they fitted nicely on the edge of these wheels, and spiked them 
on well with heavy fencing nails, with the ends one inch over the wheel or end 
of the drum ; then a piece of one and one-half inches thick and about one foot 
square, with a hole in the center for the iron rod to pass through, and also a 
small crease or hole to pour melted grease into, is spiked on to the outside of 
the ends of the two drums. I used an old thrashing shaft cut the proper length, 
and squared it three inches at the ends to enter the frame. A lighter shaft will 
do for this size roller. 

" The frame I made of three by four inch stuff, single frames, and the sections 
roll on the shaft. The tongue is three by six, dressed light at the point — passes 
through between the sections, mortised into the hind part of the frame, and 
notched and bolted to the fore part. The iron shaft passes through it. 

" A roller thus made should be taken to a blacksmith, and have him tire it 
with light buggy tire (or something broader and thinner), right over the heads 
of the spikes — that is, if the stuff be dry ; if not, wait till it is. It can be used 
one season without tire." 

Another jflethod. — " I have been using a wooden roller for ten or twelve 
years, and think it does as good work as an iron one, of four or five sections, that 
costs with us $65. I have two sections, four feet four inches each, and three 
feet in diameter. 

" The heads are made of two inch plank, crossed and spiked or pinned to- 
gether, making them four inches thick, and covered with staves of three by four 
scantling, barrel finish, with the staves shouldered on the inside one inch, leav- 
ing two by four inches where spiked on the heads. The frame three by four 
inch scantling, edge up." 

Third Method. — "Take two pieces four by four inches, three feet long; 
halve them in the center, making a cross with arms of equal length. Then take 
four pieces of plank two inches thick by eight inches wide, cutting down on each 
end of the cross arms, and jointing the ends of the planks so that they will match, 



THE FIELD ROLLER. 37I 

and also leave the face of the plank and the cross exactly even by letting the 
plank in two inches. Then bolt solid, and cut down the outside by striking a 
circle, so that you have a wheel three feet in diameter. 

" Make four of these wheels. Then take pieces two inches thick, four inches 
wide and three feet ten inches long (being common width of corn rows), and 
nail these on the heads with heavy wrought nails, so as to make two drums 
three feet ten inches long. 

" Set these rollers in a frame made of oak pieces four by four inches ; put an iron 
rod one and one-quarter inches thick through both rollers, with nuts on outside 
frame, riveted so as not to work off. Fix a good strong tongue, and put pins in 
the frame like the legs of an old fashioned bench ; fasten your reaper seat on 
top, and you have a roller that will do good work with speed, rolling fifteen or 
twenty acres per day with ease to yourself and team." 

Bent Felloe Roller. — " A roller should be in two sections, each three 
feet long, and the diameter three feet four inches. For heads, get heavy bent 
felloes for low wheels, and halve two by six scantling together for spokes or 
arms, and mortise into the rim. For covering, three by three inch scantling, 
beveled one-fourth inch and notched or halved one and one-half inches on to the 
rim, and spiked or bolted on. 

" The shaft should be one and three-fourths round bar, and squared where it 
enters the frame, as the sections should turn freely on the shaft. The boxes 
could be made of wood, but would be much better of iron, and could be got at 
any foundry. 

" The frame should be five by six feet square, sides of four by four scantling, 
front and back of two by six scantling, halved over on top and bottom, making 
a good place to slip in the tongue and fasten with bolts. Make the heads, slip 
them on the shaft and hang in the frame before commencing to cover, as they 
can be made to hang truer." 

Hollow Log" Roller. — When a roller is made of a log two feet in diam- 
eter, it should not be more than six feet long. " To make one, get a hollow 
log that is round and of an even size, true and handsome ; cut off a piece a 
little longer than the roller is to be ; block it up level ; you can level it with a 
square and a plumb line ; hew off the bark at each end, and chalk down the 
log, sighting by a plumb line, for the path of the saw ; and for getting it at a 
right angle with the length of the log, take a straight piece seven or eight feet 
long and nail on a lath at one end, an exact right angle by the square ; lay it on 
the top of the log, putting each end in the center by the plumb line at the end 
of the log ; the lath will indicate how to start the saw. 

" Having sawed each end off true, measure back to the center and saw it in 
two. If one gets it cut off nearly right first time, it will do by putting sufficient 
washers between the drums and the frame to prevent rubbing. Turn up the 
smallest end of the smallest log, and describe a circle as large as it will work, 



372 



THE FIELD ROLLER. 



and a smaller circle, to leave a shell from four to seven or eight inches thick ; 
then dress off both logs to the outside circle, all of a size ; then if it is a hollow 
log, chisel or burn out the inside as true as possible to the inside circle. 

" If a solid log, split it open in the center ; chop and dig out the centers to 
the circle ; put them together again and bore down, with a three-fourths inch 
auger, holes in the outside of the drum, two on each side, so as to pin the pieces 
together where they were split. Wedge the upper end of the pin, and the drum 
will be perfectly sohd and strong. 

" Now frame in the end of each drum a piece of wide two or three inch plank ; 
find the center again, and bore an inch and a quarter hole through ; make a 
frame of scantling for the drums, three or four inches longer in the clear than 
the drums, and four inches wider ; get a one and one-eighth inch iron rod with 
one end upset a little, and bar one-half inch thick by four inches wide, with a 
hole in the center for the rod and a nut on each end just long enough to go 
across the middle of the frame between the drums ; slip in the rod with washers 
where needed ; fasten the rod from working out ; get a forked pole or split one 
end of one for a tongue, with a ring and staple to hitch to, and the roller is 
made, A seat with boxes on top should be added." 




THE SOLID LOG FIELD HOLLER. 



Solid liOg Roller. — More rollers are made of sohd logs, perhaps, than 
any other way, but of whatever style they are constructed, they should be in 
two sections for the convenience in turning corners. They should, if of solid 
logs, be of hard wood, beech, ash, maple, oak or hickory. 

The frame should be made of four by six inch scantling, and well pinned to- 
gether, one piece between the rollers and one at each end ; one cross-piece on 
behind and one in front. The tongue should run through the center to the 
back rail, as shown in the engraving. A seat may be added if desired, but 



THE FIELD ROLLER. 373 

should be so adjusted that when a man is in it the tongue will balance at the 
usual height of a neck yoke when upon the team. 

Another Method. — " Experience has taught us some lessons about mak- 
ing a roller. To make a cheap and substantial roller, I take two logs, from two 
to two and a half feet in diameter, according to the weight of the timber used ; 
saw off each log three and a half or four feet long ; take them to a pump-shop 
and get a two and a half or three inch hole bored through the center of each. 

" Take four wooden blocks of suitable size, say three inches thick, five inches 
wide, and ten or twelve inches long ; let them into the end of the rails one and 
a half or two inches, so they may project an inch or more ; bore holes in these 
the size of the rod used for the rollers to turn on, and corresponding with the 
center of the holes in the rollers ; dress off the projecting part of the blocks, ex- 
cept about four inches in the middle, and fasten them to their places with 
screws. 

" Make the frame of four inch scantHng, consisting of two side and two end 
pieces, and one middle piece, w^ell framed together ; the width being somewhat 
greater than the diameter of the rollers, and the length such as to give them a lit- 
tle play. Bore holes through the middle of the cross pieces of the frame, place 
the rollers in the frame with an inch and a half iron rod the whole length of the 
frame, and having a hole punched near one end so that a bolt may pass through 
an end piece of the frame and the rod to prevent its turning in the frame. 

"Of course, the holes in the wooden boxing must be a little larger than the 
rod on which the rollers are to turn. Bolt the tongue on the top of the middle 
cross piece, and brace it well with iron braces fastened to the front piece of the 
frame. A seat for the driver completes the implement. 

" A roller made in this way is much more durable than made in the way we 
used to make them, with gudgeons driven into the rollers and turnmg m the 
frame. When the boxing wears out it is easily replaced." 

A Turned L<©g Roller. — "First, I cut a solid, smooth white oak log, 
six feet long ; then struck a circle on the ends and hewed it, working to a line 
so as to make it straight and round, taking off the sap ; it was then twenty-two 
inches in diameter (two feet is the right size) ; then sawed it in two ; then with 
an ax cut the inner end of each, concaving one and one-half inches, bored the 
ends and set one and one-fourth inch journals, ten inches long, sharpened at the 
point, having a collar on them ; the outer one three inches from the end, driving 
it snug to the log ; the inner ones one and three-fourths inches from the end. I 
mounted one at a time on bearings, then two men run it with their hands as a 
squirrel does his cage wheel, and with a jack plane, set coarse, dress it smooth. 

" For a frame, I made a square sash of three by four scantlings, just long 
enough for the rollers to run in, and eight inches broader than they were i;\ 
diameter. The tongue is thirteen feet long, four inches square at the back end, 
halved on to the middle of the frame and fastened with three-quarter inch bolts. 



374 THE FIELD ROLLER. 

bracing it with iron bars to the frame ; it is cut to fit the concave ends of the 
roller, bored through in the middle for both journals ; it is cut to one and one- 
half inches at the outer edge of the rollers, which leaves a space between them 
of two and one-half inches, which is no objection. 

" They need no boxes, only thick plates spiked to the inside of the frame for 
the collars to run against, with good hard, seasoned wood for frame. I burn 
the hole with one of the journals, and provide an oil hole. It runs light and 
well, and it cost me just eight dollars, and is better for all practical purposes 
and will probably last longer than some that I have seen work that cost from 
forty to sixty dollars." 

Field Roller Substitute. — A stone-boat makes a very good clod 
crusher, if weighted, and the lumps are not too dry and hard. Where no stone 
boat is at hand, one may be made at a very little expenditure of time and money. 
Take five planks about twelve inches wide, two inches thick and eight feet 
long ; lay them flat, with the edge of one just upon the edge of another, clap- 
board style ; then take two by four scantling, hard wood, and cut it to fit upon 
the top of the planks to hold them together ; three of these pieces firmly bolted 
to the plank, one near each end. 

The best way to draw this drag is by a chain passed through the scantling on 
each side about the second plank back. It should be drawn square, not diag- 
onally, and may be loaded with stones indefinitely. 



PLANK CLOD CRUSHER. 

This implement makes a good leveler, as well as clod crusher. If the soil is 
damp or heavy, it has the advantage of not compressing it, if not weighted — an 
important feature upon clay land. 

Anotlier Metliod. — Take two or three hard wood planks about three 
inches thick, nine feet long, and with pieces of three by four joist put on cross- 
wise, whose forward ends come a foot or more over the front side, to put clev- 
ises for hauling the thing by ; pin firmly together. The planks are laid flat, so 
as to form a level surface. 

Chamfer the under side, so it will not clog in front. It crushes lumps, and 
levels and smooths the ground better, some say, than any roller can do it. 

It is also just the thing for covering timothy and clover seed, or any other 
seeds, which need a compact, but light depth of covering. Many use this thing 
in preference to the roller. It must be drawn so as to cross the furrows, the 
last finishing of the work. A plank crusher may be made in three parts, each 
section four feet wide, and all hinged together. When drawn by the middle 
section, the wings adapt themselves to rough surfaces. 



CHEAP FIELD HARROWS. 375 

CHEAP FIELD HARROWS. 



Crotch vs. Framed Harroiv. — Almost every conceivable kind of de- 
vice has been put into use for loosening up the soil, from the primitive crotch 
<irag to the modern rotary harrow. No implement, I believe, has been invented 
that works more effectively on new or stumpy land than the old V-shaped har- 
row ; and for well cleared fields, the common hinged or winged harrow, with 
thirty teeth, is used more than any other. 

The last implement spoken of has some very important advantages. It does 
its work well, is cheap and simple in construction, and being in sections, it may 
t)e taken apart and loaded into a wagon with ease. There being two points of 
draft opposite each other, an equal amount of wear is made upon two sides of 
the teeth, and they are also kept straight. 




THE THIRTY-TOOTH FRAMED HARROW. 

To Hake a Thirty-Tooth Harrow. — To make one of these har- 
rows, but thirty-one feet in length of scantling is required, and this should 
he of tough white oak three inches square. The material should be well sea- 
soned before working, for if it is not, the timber will check from the teeth holes, 
and very materially injure the implement. 

Cut four pieces five feet long for outside, and two five feet and six inches for 
center bars ; plane them up, and so that you have at least two square sides 
to work from. Then lay three pieces, or one-half of the harrow wood, in the 
proper order, and beginning four inches from one end of each short piece, 
mark off points for the teeth to go in once in thirteen inches. This will leave 
four inches at each end, and give place for five teeth in each stick. Now, with 
straight-edge mark across the whole, from the two pomts marked on the out- 
side bars. 



376 STONE BOAT MAKING. 

The slats for holding the sections together should be framed through the 
center of the bars and between the two outside teeth. These slats should be 
of good timber, and one by three inches in size, and twenty-seven inches long, 
so that each section shall be, when -finished, two feet three inches wide. As to 
the manner of framing in the slats, see " How to beat a mortise," page 34. 

The hinges should be made of a rod of iron long enough to run through the 
section from side to side and take a nut. Have a lip made upon the pivot part 
of the hinge, so that the sections will not go together without one-half is lifted 
perpendicular. This will prevent the harrow unhinging when passing over 
rough ground. 

Those who prefer a lighter harrow, and one with the teeth less distance apart,, 
can make it so l:)y cutting the outside bars four feet four inches, and the inside 
ones four feet ti\ inches long, and making each section two feet wide. Put in 
the teeth eleven inches apart, the outside ones four inches from the ends. 

It is a much better plan to fit in teeth by mortising than by boring alone 
Rivets or bolts should be put through near the ends of the bars. 

How to Make a Slab Harrow. — A farmer writes the author of this 
work that he makes a slab harrow after the following cheap fashion : " Take 
a slab'seven feet long, thick and heavy. Put into it twenty five-eighth iron, 
teeth, sharpened as follows : Draw a line near the front edge from end to end. 
Now bore with a bit the holes, first one about an inch in front of the line, next 
an inch behind the line, so spaced off as to take the twenty teeth to make the 
drag. The object of this is to prevent its clogging. 

Attach a stiff tongue to it, with the rounding side of the slab down, the teeth, 
projecting about four inches. Step on and ride or put on weights and go ahead. 
Lap the drag half way as you go around the same way it was plowed, and you 
will find the smoothest and mellowest piece of ground you ever planted corn on. 
It is equally good on lumpy ground, pulverizing all the lumps. See description 
of " Field roller substitute," page 374. The implement there described, under 
some circumstances, answers a very good purpose for working up lumpy soil. 



STONE BOAT MAKING. 



material for Stone Boat. — A good stone boat is convenient upon the 
farm, especially if there are large rocks or stones to be moved. A large sized 
bowlder may be loaded upon a boat easily, when a good deal of hard lifting 
would be required to place it upon a wagon, or even a sled. The best material 
is white oak, but any hard timber will do. A natural crook is also preferable^ 
but one may be sawed from a log, crossing the grain. 



STONE BOAT MAKING. 377- 

To Make a §tone Boat. — Cut the logs eight feet long, having two- 
feet crook and six feet body ; the crook should be at an angle of about twenty 
degrees. From two and a half to three feet is the width at which they are 
commonly made. 

Scantling about three inches wide should be pinned on at each side, and 
across at the base of the shorter section, and also at the back end if one chooses. 
I prefer pins of wood to iron bolts to hold on the scantling, as the heads of the 
latter will not wear away with the wood surface of the bottom of the boat. 

As to the front, or elevated part, that may be finished according to one's- 
means. It is best to make it in shape of a half circle, and strengthened by a 
band of iron, to which the drawing rings may be attached, but if a natural 
crook, it will be sufficiently stout without this expense. 

Rings with staple going through the plank and taking a nut is a cheap way 
of making draw irons. A still cheaper way is to have a mortise near the twa 
outsides of the front sufficiently large to allow the hook of a chain to pass 
through easily. A rod of iron or stout wood is to be placed across the flat sur- 
face of the boat through the hooks. This rod should not be longer than the 
boat is wide. 

Stone Boat Clod Crusher. — Upon plowed fields, and especially after 
the harrow has passed over them once, the boat, weighted with stone, makes 
an excellent clod crusher. It should not be used upon clay land when the 
same is damp enough to pack. 

Farm Tool Boat. — A tool boat, made somewhat after the manner of 
the stone boat, is a handy implement for a husbandman. It is easily con- 
structed, and in the course of a year will save an immense amount of hard lifting- 
Take two scantlings for runners, three by four inches, and eight feet long. At 
one end of each scantHng, taper up from narrow side in the shape of board sled 
rumners. Two inches from the back end, pin on a scantling three inches- 
square and three feet long. At a point six or eight inches from front end, pin 
on a second scantKng same size and length. Fill the space between the cross- 
scantlings with inch and a quarter hard wood plank, and spike down firmly, 
after boring holes for the heavy nails. The boat is now ready to move. 

To provide for drawing the tool boat, staples may be put in the ends of the 
runners, and crotch chain used. It will be found exceedingly handy for moving 
open barrels of sand, ashes, etc., and for taking plows, harrows, cultivators, etc., 
to and from the fields. If desired, side rails may be spiked on, extending from 
one scantling to the other, but for common use there is no particular advantage 
in them. 

Where scantling cannot be easily obtained, poles from the woods will an- 
swer for both runners and cross pieces. Indeed, they may be used for the 
whole platform. The runner poles should be peeled or made smooth with draw 
shave on under side and the top flattened with an ax. If the front ends of the 



378 



MACHINERY FOR LEVELING LAND. 



Tunners have a little natural crook, all the better ; but the crook should not ex- 
tend far up. The point of draught should be from the seat of the load, and 
.there is no part'icular use in having the runners extend much above that point. 



MACHINERY FOR LEVELING LAND. 



Tlie Best Road Leveler. — But little expense is required to make a 
Toad leveler that will do more work in a given time upon the public highway 
than fifty men with shovels, excepting where it is necessary to make turnpike. 
One should be kept in every neighborhood. A good one may be made as 
follows : 

Take two planks twelve or fourteen inches wide and two inches thick ; saw 
one end of each, beveling about two inches ; /. <?., so that one edge will be 
shorter than the opposite. This is to make the top flare out when the planks are 
put together. 




A GOOD LEVELER FOR PUBLIC HIGHWAYS. 

One of these planks should be eight feet long, and the other two inches 
shorter. Put them together in V shape, the shortest edge down, and frame in 
a cross beam of four by four scantling, a little above the center, up and down, 
and about two feet from the ends, so as to spread them eight feet apart. 

The cross beam should be framed in with shoulders, and the tenons allowed 
to run through six or eight inches, so that key pins may be put in on the out- 
sides. 

When all is fitted, bolt a saw mill plate on to the inside of each wing, so that 
the back edge of the saw will come even with the lower edge of the plank. The 
point or narrow end of the scraper should be secured by iron clasps, as a good 
•deal of strain comes upon this part. The scraper is drawn open end forward, 
by staples or clevises attached near the ends, or from the shoulders of the cross 
bar, and two spans of horses used. 



MACHINERY FOR LEVELING LAND. 37g 

An implement of this kind makes a sweep of eight feet, gathering in all the 
liubs and unnatural prominences, and deposits them in the rut holes and all 
interstices, making the road level and nice. If the leveling scraper should be 
passed over country roads once or twice a month, when the condition of the 
earth would admit of it, road mending would be comparatively easy to what it 
is now, and the condition of the public highways a hundred fold better. 

A Good Meado\«^ L.eveler. — A practical New England farmer thus 
describes a device for leveling meadows, the utility of which will be readily 
seen : 

" The first thing required is an old ox sled. The next thing is a knife or 
blade, which you can get made to order, about four inches wide and one inch 
in thickness on the back — the edge to be of good steel, tempered to cut equal to 
a scythe. This blade should be straight, and about eight inches longer than 
the width of the sled. Thus prepared, the sled should be turned bottom up- 
ward. 

" The knife should then be placed across about midway of the sled's length, 
with the edge toward the front, of course, and diagonally enough to form with 
the runners an angle of about forty-five degrees. It should then be sunk mto 
the runner the thickness of the blade, and a hole should be made through the 
blade and runner, so that it can be firmly bolted on. Then, after turning the 
sled right side up, it is ready for use. 

^' When thus equipped, drive across your meadow, and you will see how 
beautifully it shaves off those bunches or deformities which have so long an- 
noyed you. If the sled is not heavy enough to work well, put on weights of 
some kind. Let a man with a manure fork follow the sled and throw the de- 
tached portions into the hollows. When this is done, pass over it with a heavy 
roller, then put on a light top dressing of manure, and throw on a little grass 
seed, and you will have a spot of mowing land to be proud of. 

" There are many meadows which are disfigured by little hillocks or clumps, 
sometim.es standing as near together as hills of potatoes, and somewhat re- 
sembling ant heaps, and the nature of the ground is such that it is difficult to 
subdue them, or level the ground with a plow or by any convenient method. 

" These humps, as they may properly be called, disfigure the meadow, ren- 
dering it almost valueless, as the grass can only be cut by hand, and it is usually 
of an inferior quality ; therefore any method or machine by which these impedi- 
ments can be removed should be considered a benefaction." 

Where an old sled is not obtainable, and there is an objection to cutting into a 
good one, the blade can be bolted to the shoe of a wood-shod sled, and then inch 
boards screwed upon the runners front and back of the knife. The forward 
ends of the front pieces should be shaved down so as to conform to curve of the 
runner, and not obstruct the sled. Put on the boards with two inch screws, 
and remove at pleasure. 



380 CROTCH DRAGS OR DRAYS. 

MANURE SPREADERS. 



Timber Manure Spreader. — An implement may be made that will 
answer the double purpose of spreading manure and levehng meadows. It is 
a profitable implement to use in the spring when the sod has sufficiently dried 
up to prevent breaking by the treading of the team. 

The spreader is made by hewing or sawing out a piece of timber four inches 
thick and fifteen or eighteen inches wide. A pole well braced should be put in 
the exact center of a flat or broad side, and an old mill saw plate bolted on the 
front surface, the back of the saw setting down flush or a little below the 
bottom edge. It should be no longer than the saw plate. This implement will 
thoroughly work up the manure and deposit it well pressed down into or among 
the roots of the grass. It will also cut away prominences in the land surface, 
and, grinding the same up, deposit the material in the low spots. 

It may be made from green timber, as shrinkage does no harm. One, if 
housed, will last a lifetime, and one is sufficient for a rural neighborhood. 

A Brush Manure Spreader. — A farmer gives a description of his de- 
vice for manure spreading, which is as follows : Take a strong pole about ten 
feet long and six inches in diameter, and secure a tongue to the middle, so as 
to form a large T. The tongue may be bolted or secured by mortise and 
tenon. 

After the tongue is made fast, set it up in a perpendicular position and bore 
two inch holes through the head piece, one foot apart. Now fill the holes with 
strong spreading brush, letting the brush extend behind the cross head from 
four to six feet. The more brush one can fasten in the holes the better. 

After the manure is spread with forks, hitch a team to the tongue, place a 
board on the brush behind the cross head, and let the driver stand on the board 
as the spreader is driven across the field, back and forth like a harrow, and the 
brush will then spread and grind the manure into the ground and pulverize the 
lumps more perfectly than can be done by hand. A man and horse team can 
spread an acre per hour of any kind of manure. 



CROTCH DRAGS OR DRAYS. 



How to Make a Dray. — An implement commonly called by husband- 
men the crotch dray will be found a very handy thing upon the farm. It is es- 
pecially useful for " snaking " out rail cuts or logs for a wood sawing machine 
in winter. It is also useful for moving bowlders and sap hauling in the sugar 
bush. For the latter purpose I have never found anything to equal it. 



CROTCH DRAGS OR DRAYS. 



38J 



It is so easily made that it scarcely needs a description. A tree crotch is 
found of any hard wood with branches six or eight inches through, which will 
work straight, or nearly so, for six feet. The front should be worked up sled 
runner fashion, and tapered to nearly a point. A long mortise through the 
head end will afford passage for a chain hook, which may draw upon a short 
rod of iron or stout piece of wood lying across the mortise. A saddle beam is 




CROTCH OR DRAY FOR LOG HAULING. 

pinned across the center and hollowed a little in the middle, as shown in the 
engraving. By securing a crotch with heavier branches, the dray may be 
worked out and finished up in a mechanical manner, and receive a coat of paint 
if one chooses. 

The Mitered Crotcli Dray. — Where a crotch cannot be secured, the 
dray may be made by obtaining two sticks, about seven feet long and mitering 
the ends together, so that there will be a proper spread. It is better in this 
case to find sticks with a little natural crook, but not absolutely necessary. 
After mitering, dress up the front sled runner fashion, and then put through 
two stout pins and v/edge them up firmly. Rods of iron with heads and nuts 
would be still better. Put on the saddle same as directed for the common 
crotch dray. 




CROTCH DRAY FOR BARREL USE. 



Crotcli Dray for Barrel.— The crotch dray with double saddles will 
be found one of the most convenient implements for hauling barrels, especially 
in the sugar bush, that can be invented. Its advantages are, the barrel is low 



382 HAY AND GRAIN IMPLEMENTS. 

down and convenient to fill ; it cannot be upset, and with a single horse to 
draw it, it may always be taken close up to the sap bucket, as the crotch will 
pass over knolls, tree roots and logs without any danger of damage if the barrel 
is well strapped or chained on. The dray requires double saddles, as shown in 
the engraving. 



HAY AND GRAIN IMPLEMENTS. 



Clieap Hay Rack. — For the bed pieces, take two three by four inch 
scantling — of white oak, heavier if of softer wood — as long as the wagon re- 
quires, and frame together by four cross pieces, each an inch below the top sur- 
face of the bed pieces. The scantling should sit the broad way up. Have the 
two outside cross pieces ten inches from the ends, and the other two so as 
to divide the space equally. Of course the cross pieces are just long enough 
to make the bed fit snugly between the stakes of the wagon. 

Four inches from the ends of the scantling set posts, two by four inches in 
size, and ten or twelve inches high, with round tenon, and put on a cross plank. 




CHEAP AND HANDY HAY RACK. 



two by six inches wide, and long enough to reach at least six inches beyond the 
outer rim of the wheels. The corner posts should sit broad way with length of 
rack, so as to give a good shoulder support to the cross end planks. 

Now put two more planks of same v/idth and thickness across the center of 
the bed between the wheels, and as far apart as can be and clear the wheels. 
Mortise each end of the four cross planks with a narrow, sloping mortise and 
put in thin elm wheel boards, as shown in the engraving. If boards cannot be 
handily procured, bore auger holes and bend small poles over the wheels. 
After this is done, put in a line pole, then fit boards between the wheel bows, 
so that they rest upon the cross planks and bolt them down. They afford good 
places for the driver and pitcher to sit when returning to the field. The cross 
planks between the wheels should be bolted to the bed scantling. The four 
cross pieces of bed being one inch below the surface of the bed scantling, 
boards for rack bottom can be slipped beneath the cross planks in center. To 



HAY AND GRAIN IMPLEMENTS. 383. 

prevent the rack moving on the wagon, bolt a cleat on under side of bed scant- 
ling, each side of hind bolster. 

Another Metliod. — A variation may be made in the construction of the 
rack if one chooses, by using two long side pieces in place of the board bows. In 
that case more stakes are to be set in the bed pieces and a narrow rail put upoa 
them, same length as the scantling, framed on ten inches above, to go between 
the stakes. The end planks rest upon these ; then planks two by four run 
lengthwise, resting on end planks, one each side of the wheel rim. Cross bows 
will be needed over the hind wheels, but none in front. I have used both racks 
described, and the first is much preferred. 

Improved Oraiii Rake. — A farmer gives some very good suggestions 
relative to the improvement of the common hand rake, for gathering gavels in 
the harvest field : " Procure some wire about one-fourth of an inch in diameter;, 
cut it in pieces seven inches long, and dress the ends round, or nearly so, with a 
large file or on the grindstone. These pieces are for the teeth of the hand rake. 
Now take them to a blacksmith's shop or to a machine shop and have a thread 
cut on one end of each tooth for about one inch. 

" Then drive out every alternate tooth in the head of a wooden hand rake, plug 
up the holes with pieces of hard wood, well seasoned and oiled, and bore other 
holes in the head of the proper size to receive the iron teeth when screwed in. 

" The holes for the wire teeth should be bored on one side of the plugs, so 
that the thread on the teeth will be held by the thread made in the head of the 
rake. If the hole is made in the center of the plug, the tooth will soon work 
out. A better way still will be to take an old rake with a broken head ; make a 
new head, into which insert the teeth." 

L<ong^ Wire Rake Teetli. — When raking wheat, barley, rye or oats 
into gavels, one can rake much faster and with far less strength by employmg 
a rake with teeth twice as long as the wooden teeth are usually made. When 
raking with short teeth the raker must necessarily exert more strength to keep 
his rake down than is required to move the straw along into gavels. 

Old rakes, the teeth of which have been worn up to short stubs, are frequently 
put into the hands of boys to rake grain for others to bind into sheaves. As. 
the teeth are so short they labor hard to accomplish what they could do with 
comparative ease if their rakes were provided with teeth six or seven inches 
long. A rake with long teeth will work far more satisfactorily at any other sort 
of work than one with short teeth. 

Long Wooden Rake Teetli. — If wire cannot be procured conven- 
iently, knock out the short wooden teeth and make long teeth of some tough 
hickory, yellow locust or any other tough, timber, seasoned thoroughly. Such 
a job can be done on some stormy day. After a raker has become accustomed 
to long teeth he will not use a hand rake with short teeth, because short teeth 
require the exercise of more muscle. 



384 STORING HAY AND GRAIN. 

STORING HAY AND GRAIN. 



Cuttings Orass. — As a general thing, grass is not cut early enough to get 
the greatest profit from the crop. If allowed to stand until ripe, much of the 
nutriment has been converted into woody fiber, and the stalks become hard 
and light in color. The only compensation for allowing grass to mature, is in 
what little grain feed is obtained by the seed, and this is nowhere equal to the 
loss of succulent material of the young stalks and blades. 

Hay to be of best quality should not be dried any more than is necessary to 
insure its keeping in the stack or mow. I have succeeded in taking grass to 
the barn quite green and mixing it with dry straw as it was mowed away. The 
straw absorbs the sap, and becomes valuable of itself as a stock feed. 

If the prospect of fair weather is unfavorable and hay is out, the straw mix- 
ture is certainly a good way out of the trouble, for hay, if damp or green, should 
not stand in cocks to sweat, for by this process much of the soluble matter is 
converted into carbonic acid and alcohol, and the hay will be less nutritious and 
healthful. When hay is properly cured, or mixed thoroughly with dry straw, 
there is no use of salt ; but if some that is bleached or musty is unavoidably put 
up, four quarts to the ton may be profitably applied to give the fodder relish. 

Hay Cap§.— Upon many farms hay caps are used, and it is believed with 
great profit. The caps are easily made ; they should be about two yards 
square, and after hemming have eyelet holes worked in each of the four corners, 
through which pegs are passed and forced into the ground to hold the cover- 
ings down. 

If the cloth has been rendered waterproof by any of the processes given in 
this work, hay can not be injured in passing through a heavy storm. The only 
trouble likely to be the result of cocking is fermentation, spoken of above, but 
this will not take place if the hay is well cured. 

How to Build a Hay Mo^iv. — On small farms, where the horse fork 
is not used, much hard labor may be saved by building up one-half of the hay 
mow at a time. For instance, with the first hay drawn, fill either the right or 
left hand end of the bay, up as far as the big beam, then rake down the side, 
and while this part is settling, fill the other half. The two parts bemg filled at 
different times will not settle alike, and of course will noL unite, so there will be 
no use for a hay knife in winter. 

An important benefit of this plan is derived by lessening the hard labor while 
unloading. One-half of the mow being lower than the other, the top of the load 
may be thrown on to the highest part, and the balance below, which saves 
pitching from the rack over the big beam. After trying this mode of mowing 
away hay, it will not be abandoned. 

There is still another advantage ; the greatest heat caused by fermentation is 



STORING HAY AND GRAIN. 385 

always in the center of the mow, and the seam here gives escape to the gener- 
ated gases. 

There is very generally a neglect among farmers to properly prepare the bot- 
tom of their bays for hay to keep well. In most cases the hay is allowed to lie 
upon the ground, or at best to rest upon a few poles or rails laid on the earth. 

The best construction I ever used was to put in logs, fifteen inches through, 
across the bay, once in eight or ten feet, and upon these spread rails or poles, 
leaving a space between them of about two inches. This gives a free circula- 
tion below the mow, and not a pound of hay is injured if it remains there for 
years. 

How to Stack. Hay. — 'In the Middle and Western States farmers are in 
the habit of stacking portions of their hay crop, not always from want of barn 
room, but for convenience. Hay well stacked will keep well, but as a rule 
farmers should get as much of it as possible under cover and feed it there. I 
subjoin the following rules for stacking, which are orthodox : 

" There should never be any hollow at the top, nor on any part of the stack. 
The builder who makes a stack that will have a hollow in it after settling is 
unfit for his business. The middle of the stack should always be kept fullest — 
kept crowning from bottom to top throughout the whole process. 

" The builder should be active and keep in motion, treading on all parts alike 
as much as possible. The work should be done systematically. The builder 
should start from where he receives the hay, and go around the circle with it as 
regularly and uniformly as possible. There should be no irregularity that in 
settling will make a hollow. 

" Begin by taking three large, strong rails, as nearly as may be of equal size, 
and place them parallel and equi-distant — the distance apart of the outside two 
to be equal to the length of one. Cover these three entirely with rails crossing 
them, thus making a bottom that will keep the hay from the ground. On these 
place four more rails — two on the ends of the upper tier, and two on the ends 
of these two. Now begin with hay by piling it in the center, going from the 
center outward, always keeping the center crowning as before directed. 

" If the stack is to contain as much as three tons, go up with as much as one 
wagon load before laying out wider than the extent of the rails. Afterward 
the laying out should be so gradual as to prevent the hay resting on the ground 
when the stack is fully settled. If there be a failure in the calculation, and any 
of the hay touches the ground in the settling, it should be pulled out. No hay 
should be wasted on the ground. 

" The stack should have no corners. Neglect building on the corners of the 
rail foundation at the start. Start the stack in a circular form and keep it so. 

" When the weather and other circumstances will permit, the work will be 
done better to allow the principal part of the stack to settle twenty-four hours, 
more or less, before finishing. 



386 STORING HAY AND GRAIN. 

" Do not top out around a center pole, for this conducts water down. Put on 
binders made by strapping two sticks or poles together with space of a few 
feet between their ends. These poles should not be heavy enough to bed into 
the side of the stack. A few forks full of swamp grass on the top is an advan- 
tage. If the sides of the stack is lightly raked down after settling it will 
straighten out the surface straws and make conductors to the ground for drops 
of rain," 

Cutting' Wlieat. — Wheat should be cut when the grain has reached the 
dough state , that is, a few days before fully ripened. Cut thus, it will not shell 
when handling, and the grain stalk will be found to contain sufficient nutriment 
to fully develop or ripen the kernel. 

To Stack Oraiii. — To stack grain that is to stand some time before 
thrashing so that it will keep good, requires considerable care. I have built 
many stacks after the following system, and always with good success. Set up 
two bundles where the center of the stack is to be ; set others around them in- 
clining so as to make a gradual slope to the circumference, each row of bundles 
half their length further out, until a sufficient diameter is obtained. 

Lay the outside row double and press down firmly ; then commence laying 
from the outside to the center, letting each row lap half the length of the one 
laid before it ; in this way the sheaves will be bound together. Always keep 
the center the highest, and build the stack up perpendicular, square or round, 
as may suit the taste. 

When high enough to begin drawing in to top out, lay two courses around 
projecting out a little further than the others, to form eaves. A little poor hay 
or bog grass may be put upon the top, and to secure it from blowing away put 
binders over it. 

AnotSier Plan, — A Western grain grower gives the following suggestions : 
" Lay your stack on as level ground as it is possible to find, say on the top of a 
little hill, which top is generally flat. Commence in the middle, setting up the 
bundles as for a ' shock ; ' build all around until you get a$ large a bottom as 
is desired. Now commence on the outside layers, having the butts of the bun- 
dles about even with the bottom, or a little farther out if the grain is damp. 

" When this row is formed, lay the second with the butts four to six inches 
from the bands of the first row, and so on until you get filled up. If you find the 
middle getting too full, lay them in a little further. 

" Here let me caution all against filhng up the middle of the stack with loose 
or broken bundles ; if you have such, bind them up or lay them on the outside, 
for the middle of the stack must be soKd. Don't walk any further toward the 
outside of the stack than is really necessary. 

•' When you come to topping out the stack, be careful to keep the middle well 
filled up, and the outside as even as you can ; but mind you don't get as much 
as one bundle with the heads the lowest ; if such places occur, lay some bun- 



STORING HAY AND GRAIN. 387 

dies on the inside, filling up the hollow before laying the outside ones, for one 
bundle pitching the wrong way often lets in a great deal of water. 

" In finishing, when you have no more middle to fill, keep in the center, lay- 
ing a bundle wherever the butt will be the lowest, until completely topped out. 
Force a long, nicely trimmed stake down well into the stack, to keep the wind 
from blowing off the top." 

HoAV to Stack Straw. — The stacking of straw as it should be done is 
a matter of no little importance. An old farmer says : " It is rare that I see 
a properly built stack. If the straw is designed for simply treading into so- 
called manure, it is often left after the machine is gone in a shape admirably 
adapted for the purpose. But nice, bright straw, especially if the grain is cut 
before it is dead ripe, is very readily eaten by stock in the winter, and is cer- 
tainly worth preserving for the purpose. 

" Any man of ordinary skill can build a straw stack. The main point is to 
get good sized forkfuls to place compactly around the outside, and another series 
of similar forkfuls to put aside and partly on top of it to bind the outside tier. 
Tread firmly and keep the middle well filled. 

" It is better to arrange to put all the straw in one large stack, rather than in 
two or three small ones, and it is better to have it a little too high than too wide 
with a flat roof. It may take an extra man to make the high roof, but it will 
pay. 

" Another point to be especially attended to, is to throw the chaff into the 
middle of the stack, or at least not to leave it in a heap where it drops from the 
carrier. The weak spot in the stack, and where the rain is almost sure to do 
the most damage, is on the side next the carrier. Special care should be taken 
to get the chaff and short straw away and to build up around the carrier with 
long straw. 

" Two men on the stack, for a ten-horse machine, is enough at first, but as 
the stack gets higher, three will be needed. Better put on four, even, than have 
a poor stack. But it is not necessary. Let the farmer lend a helping hand on 
the stack occasionally, if necessary, and see that all is going on right. 

" If thrashing out of doors, see that the chaff and fine straw which fall on the 
ground are thrown on to the carrier. Do not let it accumulate, for if the man 
gets behind he will be apt to throw up grain also. The farmer had better 
watch these things than work steadily himself. Let the stack be finished off 
at once. If this is neglected at the time it will seldom be done afterwards. 

" Every bit of straw should be on the stack before the machine stops. And 
then make some sheaves by drawing out straw from the sides of the stack, and 
fill up the hole where the man stood on the roof and make the whole roof so 
that it will shed water. I advise, as the result of my own experience, that this 
be done at once and the stack finished off as though you were sure of a heavy 
rain before morning." 



388 HARVESTING THE CORN CROP. 

To Prepare Stra^w for Cattle. — A correspondent of Land and 
Water, an English paper, describes a new method of preparing straw for fod- 
der, which is extensively practiced by the farmers of Cambridgeshire, by which 
its value is greatly increased. The straw is cut by a machine as soon after it is 
thrashed as possible, and the imperfectly cut portion is sifted out by a screen 
constructed for the purpose. The chopped straw is then spread on the floor of 
a capacious room — say some part of the barn — to the depth of about one foot. 
Then lay on the straw in two or three heaps — six or eight bushels in each — 
chopped tares, clover, grass, or any succulent vegetable that will ferment. 

On these pour a few gallons of boiling water, and cover them immediately 
with the cut straw, which must be well trodden down as the process of filling 
proceeds, during which salt, in the proportion of a quarter of a hundred to a 
ton of chaff, may be sprinkled in. 

The consolidation must be strictly attended to, and it is best to have a num- 
ber of boys with a man constantly and slowly traversing the mass as it rises, 
so that the chaff may, if possible, be compressed as tightly as hops in a packet. 
In the course of a few days fermentation will set in, and probably continue for 
three or four weeks ; the degree of heat can be ascertained by thrusting an iron 
rod to the center of the mass ; after it has subsided, the chaff will have acquired 
the scent of hay, and will keep for any length of time. 

In cases where clover, or grass, or green vegetables are not available, only 
salt is added, and some persons use half a hundred weight of salt to a ton of 
chaff. In treading the mass, a board fifteen inches long and six or seven in 
width is laced on the foot. 



HARVESTING THE CORN CROP. 



Cutting' up Corn, — Different producers have different ways of shocking 
corn, and it is evident that some have a much better mode than others, as we 
often see fields of harvested corn with the stooks all standing erect and nice, 
while others are twisted about or lying sprawled upon the ground. It is no 
more work to cut corn and shock it right than to half do it. 

Some farmers put thirty-six hills together, others sixty-four, and some one 
hundred, and the latter I think the wisest course, for the grain will harden or 
cure just as well, the fodder receive greater protection from frost, for not so 
much of it is exposed ; the shocks are firmer and much less liable to fall over 
or get out of shape, and when husking there is less shifting about to be done. 

If the field of corn is small, and one is desirous of husking the corn and car- 
ing for the stalks early, small shocks, say sixty hills, would be preferred, as 
they cure quicker than large ones. 



HARVESTING THE CORN CROP. 



389 



It is a common practice to bend two or three corn hills over and entwine 
their tops as a support to build the shock around, yet some use a " jack," 
which saves the trouble and answers just as good a purpose where the stooks 
are made large. 

Tlie Corn Jack.— The jack is simply a pole or light rail ten or twelve 
feet long, with two legs put in near one end, four feet long ; then back from the 




JACK FOR SHOCKING CORN. 

legs four feet an inch and a quarter hole is bored horizontally ; then it is ready 
for use. 

It is placed where the shock is to be built, one end elevated by the legs and 
the other end upon the ground ; a piece of rake handle, six feet long, or some- 
thing of the kind, is slipped through the hole and the corn set up around it ; 
when the shock is complete, pull out the stick, and then by taking hold of the 
elevated end of the jack it may be drawn out and placed for the next. 

How to Bind Corn Shocks. — Large shocks are very difficult to bind 
firmly by the use of arms alone, and I illustrate here a simple contrivance for 
contracting the shock so that the band may be put on with ease, and firmly. 




CORN SHOCK BINDER. 



This implement can be made by a person of any mechanical skill. It consists 
of a tapering shaft three and one-half feet long, a crank, B, a washer or cross- 
bar, C D, eight inches long, through which the shaft passes. At C is a staple 
through which passes the rope, E ; at D is a hook to receive the loop on the 
end of the rope. 

The manner of use is as follows : When a sufficient quantity of stalks have 
been gathered and stood on end for a shock, the operator plunges the shaft 
through the middle of the shock, at the height where it is desired to put on the 
band. One end of the rope being fastened to the base of the shaft and crank, a 
boy takes the loop end, and going around the standing shock, brings it around 
and hitches the loop upon the hook, D. The operator then turns the crank, B, 
and the rope winds upon the shaft between the washer and the crank, and 



390 



HARVESTING THE CORN CROP. 



hugs the shock into a compact body, when a band of straw or stalks can be 
withed around and the rope loosened for the next. 

Cuttings and Piling Corn. — The most rapid way to cut up corn is to 
drop the stalks on to the ground, forming piles of as many hills as can be con- 
veniently carried, and after an acre or so has been cut, go through and set it up. 
The cutting and carrying to the shock single handfuls at a time makes a great 
deal of traveling and unnecessary work. 

Best Corn Cutter. — The best corn cutter I ever used was made from a 
piece of scythe about eighteen inches long with the back removed, the blade 
flattened and set in a wood handle. When sharp it glides through a corn hill 
very easily, requiring but a light blow to sever half a dozen stalks. 

Saving" Seed Corn. — A few rods square of the best corn should be set 
apart for seed, or a few hills left here and there of the very earliest, and al- 
lowed to thoroughly ripen before cutting up. Farmers have experienced diffi- 
culty enough with poor seed corn to bfegin to remedy the matter, and it can only 
be done by saving seed from corn cut up so ripe that frost or shrinkage will not 
destroy the vitality of the germ. 

Frost will not injure corn after it has fully ripened. There is another advan- 
tage in selecting the earliest and largest growth ; by this means a variety may 
be obtained very productive, and that which will be many days earlier than the 
kind from which it originated. 

Corn Husking Table. — As much of the corn is husked in the field, and 
in the fall of the year when the ground is soft, farmers should construct cheap 
tables to husk upon, to save getting down upon the damp earth, or standing by 




CHEAP TABLE FOR CORN HUSKING. 



the shock and handling one stalk at a time. When stalks lay horizontally be- 
fore the workman, the job may be greatly expedited. 

With a light table, as shown in the engraving, easy work may be made of 
husking. Tip the table partly over sidewise against the shock ; then reach out» 
take hold of the band and bring the table back upon its legs and the stalks with 
it. The stalks can be bound upon the platform as fast as the grain is removed. 



HOW TO LOAD SAW LOGS. 391 

The table should be made of light material and held together by use of 
screws or wrought nails. The legs need not be more than two inches square, 
and the balance of the material three-quarter or inch stuff. One may be made 
of round sticks where sawed lumber is not at hand. The chief object in hav- 
ing the table light, is that it can easily be carried from one shock to another. 
The table will be found handy in the barn after the corn harvest is over. It 
should be about thirty inches high, four feet wide and seven feet long. 

Hauling Corn l$talk§. — Where shocks of corn are to be hauled from 
the field, no contrivance is better than the sled. Sometimes it is not convenient 
to use runners, however, and wheeled vehicles have to be resorted to. In such 
cases, a platform may be readily made upon a wagon that will answer a good 
purpose. Lay two four by four scantlings between the stakes ; put on three 
cross strips of two by four scantling, long enough to extend a foot each side 
beyond the wheels. Bolt these to the scantlings, one at each end, and one in 
the center ; then put on a board platform lengthwise, one board outside of the 
wheels. A line ladder may be put at the front end, if desired, and a binding 
rope used from that to hind axletree. 



HOW TO LOAD SAW LOGS. 



Loading" on a Sled. — The common and most effectual way is to place 
two skids from sled to log, one resting over forward beam and the other over 
hind beam. Hitch a chain around the center beam, carry it under the log, then 
over back across the sled and hitch the team to it, and roll the log up to place. 
Resting upon the front beam there should be a saddle five or six inches thick, 
hollowed in the center to hold the log, and notched at each end, so as to strad- 
dle the stakes and keep in place. 

Before starting the log up the skids, put short braces inside the sled, opposite 
side, to prevent the log rolling clear over. The skids should be eight or ten 
feet long, and as large as can be easily handled. Sharpen one end like a blunt 
wedge, so that it may be forced beneath the log. 

Loading on a Wagon, — It very often happens that it is necessary for 
the farmer to take logs to the saw mill in the summer, and it is to the advan- 
tage of all to know how best to do the work. 

Where the log is small and the surface between the forest and mill is level, a 
common plan has been to swing the logs under the axletrees of a wagon, 
where a truck cannot easily be obtained, or to put the hind wheels of the heavy 
wagon upon a false axletree and swing one end of the log up, allowing the other 
to drag upon the earth. 



392 HOW TO REMOVE STUMPS. 

Where considerable distance is to be gone, a very good way is to put into a 
heavy farm w^agon a long, false reach, spreading the wheels so that a log may 
pass between them. On the bolsters put a heavy frame and saddles, and load 
with skids, the same as upon the sled. 

Another Metliod. — For loading on an ordinary' wagon place the hind 
wheels opposite a point in the log, one-third its length from the butt end, so 
that the axle will be parallel with the log and ten or twelve feet from it ; then 
let a strong skid run from the axle to the log, give a chain a turn or two around 
the log, so that by attaching the team the log may be rolled up the skid high 
enough for the fore wheels to be backed under and chained in the ordinary 
manner. The log should be secured while on the skid by scotching with an ax. 
The fore wheels once loaded, of course the hind ones will easily swing the log. 

Lioacting a Truck. — The truck should be loaded the same as a sled. A 
very cheap arrangement of this kind may be made by taking the wheels of an 
old wagon and cutting them down and putting on broad tires. Two old tires 
side by side will do. 



HOW TO REMOVE STUMPS. 



A Cheap Stump Puller. — The lever plan of pulling stumps is doubt- 
less the cheapest way of clearing land up rapidly. With a heavy, stout team, 
thirty to fifty stumps may be removed in a day. The chain should be very 
heavy ; inch rod is none too large, but no great amount of length is required. 
The lever should be about twenty-five feet long, of hard wood, and some twelve 
or fifteen inches through at the butt. 




LEVER STUMP PULLER. 



Roll the large end of the lever up to the stump, dig a hole under the roots so 
that the chain may be put around that and the lever, then hitch the team to the 
: mall end of the lever and drive on a circle ; this will tear away the root and a 
portion of the stump ; then hitch to another root, and so on until all are removed. 



HOW TO REMOVE STUMPS. 393 

The lever may rest against the body of the stump above the roots. One 
chain six feet long will be sufficient for a neighborhood, and I think it advisable 
for farmers to have some arrangement of this kind for removing stumps, instead 
of plowing and mowing around these obstacles year after year. 

The first to the fifteenth of April is the best time to stump land. The soil is 
5oft and spongy, and a stump that is immovable in June will readily jerk out in 
April. 

Aiiotlier Device. — A correspondent sends me a device similar in its 
workings to the foregoing : "-Have a chain made of the best round charcoal 
iron, at least one inch and a fourth in diameter and eight feet long, with a ring 
in each end two inches and a half in diameter ; one side of these rings must be 
formed like a link. 

" Attach one ring to a band of iron two and a half inches broad, one inch 
thick, and one foot in diameter, with a small offset for the ring to lodge m. 
This band should be beveled on the inside edge, to make it slip on the pole 
readily and prevent cutting it. 

" Cut a nice, straight, tapering hickory, white oak, or locust lever, one foot in 
diameter at the butt and twenty-five feet long. Take off the bark and limbs 
smoothly, put on the band, let it come within two feet of the large end, at which 
point put in two small pins of iron, to prevent it from going any further. 

" Within four inches of the small end put on a common ox yoke clevis, with 
a ring in it to pull by. Hitch on a yoke of oxen. Drive on the right of the stump 
until the band passes the stump a few inches. Pass the chain round the stump 
on the left side and draw it tight, with no twist in the chain. A little above 
the lever drive in a common wedge, and put the ring on the wedge. Then gee 
round in a circle, until the stump is twisted out. 

" This machine will take out about half the dead stumps in a field of long 
standing without cutting the brace roots. Common sized green stumps can be 
taken out also by cutting the brace roots first and digging a little. 

" After everything is ready, with the team and two hands I can take up one 
hundred or more stumps per day, as it is no draft at all on the cattle, except 
the labor of pulling the lever from stump to stump." 

The Crotcli Lever. — Take three pieces of common joists, put them to- 
gether in form like the common harrow, letting the tapering or forward ends 
lap by each other some six inches, making a place for the chain to rest in. The 
third piece is used to go across. Cut off the roots at any distance you please 
from the stump, place the machine on one side of the stump, tapering end up, 
leaning toward the stump, so as to form a leverage ; hitch the chain on the 
opposite side, pass it over the machine ; then hitch a good yoke of oxen thereto, 
and you will see the stump rise. 

Tlie Jack Screw for Stumps. — -A farmer writes : " Having an old 
jack screw, I thought I would try it on stumps. I made a strong frame, three 



394 HOW TO REMOVE STUMPS. 

or three and a half feet long, of two upright posts standing on a block two feet 
long. On the top of the posts I placed a strong beam, seven feet long ; in the 
center I bored a hole so as to let the screw through. 

" The screw is three feet long, and from it a strong chain goes around one 
c?f the roots of the stump, and then applying a lever ten feet long to turn the 
screw, one man at the end will be surprised to see the power there is in the 
machine. The frame should be made out of axletree stuff, and well braced , 
the chain out of three-quarter inch iron." 

Burning' Out Stuinp§. — A little excavation may be made under the 
stump between two of the large roots, and some combustible material put in, 
and then set on fire. Previous to this, however, some dry materials should be 
piled around the root, above the surface of the ground, and covered over with a 
compact layer of turf, forming a sort of coal pit. 

It has been found, upon experiment, that the stumps will burn in this way a 
number of days, with a sort of subterranean fire ; and, when the turf falls in, 
nearly all of the root is found consumed below and above the surface of the 
ground. 

Macliine Oil in Stump Burning-. — If you have many acres to clear 
of stumps, get one barrel of black machine oil ; then take an inch and a quar- 
ter auger and bore four holes in the largest stumps, letting the auger stand 
toward you in an angle of forty-five degrees ; bore eight inches deep ; then fill 
the holes three-fourths full of the oil and plug up tight. Pour, also, one-third 
of a pint on top, in a foot circle, and let it spread well. When done preparing, 
or say in five days, kindle your fires on top of the stumps and see them disappear. 

Cliimney for l^tump Burning. — Use a sheet iron chimney, big enough 
in diameter to fit over the largest stump, and some six feet in height. An open- 
ing near the bottom answers for a door. The stump should be set on fire by 
placing around it some kindling wood inside the chimney, and the latter will 
produce a draft which will materially hasten the burning of the wood. 

Saltpeter for Stump Burning. — In the fall bore an inch or an inch 
and a quarter hole, according to the size of the stump, vertically into the middle 
of the stump, eighteen inches deep, and put into it an ounce to an ounce and a 
half of saltpeter ; fill the whole with water and plug it up. In the spring take 
out the plug, and put into the hole half a gill to a gill of kerosene, and ignite it; 
It will go on burning without any blaze until the whole stump to the extremity 
of the roots is consumed, leaving nothing but ashes. The stump must be moist ; 
an old dry stump will not be penetrated by the saltpeter. 

Sulphurie Acid for Stump Burning.— Bore with a two inch auger 
to the heart of the stump ; fill the cavity thus made with sulphuric acid, or with, 
crude oil of petroleum. In the first case, the acid becomes the destructive 
agent within a few months ; in the latter, when the stump becomes saturated 
with the oil it is fired, and will then burn out to the last particle like a candle.. 



PLOWS AND PLOWING. 395, 

PLOWS AND PLOWING. 



The Science of Draug^lit. — This is a subject which should have the 
attention of every tiller of the soil. I cannot do better than to quote the re- 
marks of an old plowman, whose experience with this implement accords with 
my own : 

" When the different parts of a plow are correctly made, and the team is 
hitched to the implement with a correct length of draught chain, it will glide 
along in smooth ground (if clear of rocks, etc.) independent of any interference 
on the part of the plowman. There is nearly as much science in the correct 
understanding of the principles of draught when hitching a team to a plow as^ 
there is m navigating a ship. 

" When a plowman is required to exert much strength to keep his plow in 
proper position to cut a furrow slice of the desired width and depth, it is a 
certain indication that there is something wrong in the mechanism of the plow,, 
or that the traces, doubletree and clevis are not properly adjusted." 




LINE FOR ADJUSTMENT OF DRAUGHT. 

Adju§tnieiit of tlie Plow Beam. — The draught ought always to co- 
incide with a plane passing through the middle of the plow beam, and the 
beam stand in such a position with regard to the land slide, that the rear end 
of the land slide will not press harder against the unplowed ground than the 
forward end or point. 

The beam often stands so far to the right beyond the true line, that the plow 
can not be made to run satisfactorily when a strong plowman does not hold it 
with a firm hand. If such should be the case, unscrew and take out the rear 
bolt, bore a hole to the left of the one in the beam, chisel out between the two 
holes and then it can be adjusted to a fraction by inclining the beam to the left.. 

By drawing lines from the mold board to the end of the plow beam, having- 
the lines, in imagination, terminate at the tug attachment of the horse's collar, 
it may be readily seen that the lowering and raising of the clevis is necessary^ 
when there is a change of team, unless the animals are of the same height and 
the tugs of exactly the same length. 



396 PLOWS AND PLOWING. 

Leiigtli of Plow Doubletree. — " One serious difficulty in tht way of 
adjusting a plow so that it will run without holding, is in using a doubletree sev- 
eral inches longer than it should be. A doubletree is liable to be too long, and 
may be too short, although it is unusual to see one too short. 

" When a doubletree is too long, the center of draught between the animals 
will be too far from the furrow on the side of the unplowed ground, which will 
cause the plow to cut a furrow slice so wide that the mold board will not turn 
it properly. 

" The plowman is forced, therefore, to adjust the clevis so that the implement 
will incline toward the furrow. Such an adjustment of the clevis causes the 
implement to run so unnaturally, that the moment the plowman does not hold the 
plow up to the desired position, it will turn up out of the ground and fall over 
on its side." 

Oeneral I>efect§ in Plow§. — " One serious fault to most plows is the 
proper dip to the point. It is hard to tell on paper how to run a plow, yet it is 
easy for an experienced plowman, even when blindfolded, to tell by the touch 
when the plow runs right or wrong, and what should be done to make it run 
without holding. 

" The draught chains must be neither too long nor too short. The clevis must 
"be correctly adjusted. The doubletree must be neither too long nor too short. 
The beam must stand in proper line with the face of landslide — the dip of point 
must be just right and every part must be correctly balanced, and then a boy 
will be able to plow about as well as a man. 

" Defective plowing is generally caused not from want of muscle, but want of 
knowledge how to adjust the implement." 

Leverage in Plow Handles. — It is claimed that in a well constructed 
plow the leverage is the same in both right and left handle. " Force applied to 
one handle is equally applied to the other, because they are connected together, 
and are both component parts of a guiding attachment, neither one having any 
independent office or power. 

" The left, or landside handle is, or should be, bent out over the land and away 
from the plowman, and the right one is brought up so near a line that when he 
walks in the furrow they are equally distant from him. Thus all is balanced, 
all is equal, and it makes no kind of difference whether the left or the right hand 
of the plowman is stronger, nor to which handle the lines are attached." 

Some claim that it requires not more than half the labor to steady the plow and 
govern it with the mold board handle, that is required when using the beam 
handle. Whether it be a right or left hand plow used, the mold board handle 
is the one by which the plow is the easiest governed. The difference of opinion 
may be owing to different adjustments. 

Economy of Long Furrows.— A German agricultural journal ob- 
serves that farmers usually pay little attention to the length of the furrows to 



PLOWS AND PLOWING. 397 

be plowed in a field, and yet great waste of time and labor is the necessary^ 
consequence of unsuitable arrangements in this respect. 

The turning of the plow and the commencing of a new furrow requires more 
exertion in the plowman and the team than continued work in a straight line^ 
and how great may really be the loss of time from frequent interruptions in 
short turns, may be shown by the following calculations : 

In a field two hundred and twenty-five feet long, five and one half hours out of 
ten are used redirecting the plow ; with a length of five hundred and seventy-five 
feet, four hours are sufficient for the purpose ; and when the plow can proceed 
without interruption for eight hundred feet, only one and one half hours of the 
daily working time are consumed. Hence the economy in making the furrows 
as long as circumstances will admit. 

How to Plow Flat Land. — A veteran agriculturist writes the author 
of this work of a system of plowing he has adopted and tested for years, which 
he calls an excellent substitute for underdraining. 

The system consists in plowing the land so as to never fill up the heart fur- 
rows. Before plowing in this way the first time, observe which way the field 
will drain to the best advantage ; then measure off the lands about three rods 
wide. It is necessary that the lands be laid out regularly, and the furrows be 
made straight, for when once opened they are always to remain so. 

The next time the piece is plowed, plow up the same way, or back furrow,, 
opening the same furrows as deeply as possible, as continuing to plow the 
same way would throw all the fertile soil away from the furrows, and make the 
centers of the lands too high. After the second plowing pass along the heart 
furrows and plow two furrows toward each land ; with a large plow and a 
strong team once will be sufficient. Then plow the lands back toward the fur- 
rows. This will leave a light furrow in the center, which will fill up in harrow- 
ing. 

In plowing after this, plow either from or toward the furrows, as the land 
may require, taking care to leave the lands highest in the center, so that the 
water will flow toward the furrows. At their lower end, the furrows should be 
opened into an open ditch, to carry away the surface water. By opening the 
furrows as deeply as possible at each plowing, the land is as effectually drained 
as though tiles had been laid at a depth of two feet. 

The deep furrows produced can be no objection to the system, as the wagon, 
mower or reaper will cross them easier than the short, abrupt furrows made in 
the old way. In using the drill, drive crosswise of the furrows. 

Back FurroAV Plowing. — A Western grain grower says that if you 
wish to plow a land ten rods wide, instead of striking out a land that width, 
take one-half that width, pace off five rods from the end, and set in your plow, 
and plow to within five rods of the other end and stop ; now back furrow as 
usual the required length, and then turn a square corner at the end, observing 



398 MANAGING LARGE SAWS. 

to have the end furrow on a parallel line with the outside. By this means you 
will always turn round on the stubble, thus leaving the land untrodden, and in- 
stead of dead furrows at the corners, you will have ridges. 

Care of the Plow.— When the plow leaves the field, the mold board 
is polished bright, but will not remain so long unless coated with oil to protect 
it from the influences of the weather. It is an easy matter to brush it over, as 
it is put away, with an oiled rag or any one of the preparations recommended 
in this work to keep iron and steel from rusting, and when new work is begun 
"with the plow, the advantage will readily be seen. 



MANAGING LARGE SAWS. 



To Set a Cross Cut Saw. — It has been my custom to use a good iron 
wedge to govern the slant of the large saw tooth. First I make the two straight 
sides level, then bevel one corner or edge of a straight side at the head end 
until it is of proper pitch for the set of a tooth. The blade of the saw is laid 
flat upon the side of the wedge, an assistant holding it, and each tooth to be 
set on one side brought over the beveled surface, and by a hammer bent down 
to fit the iron. 

The left hand is placed upon the blade at the back to hold it firmly upon the 
wedge, the tooth brought so that the point just reaches the wedge head sur- 
face, and then the blow struck. Pass over both sides, keeping one position all 
of the time. When one side is done, change ends with the saw and go through 
exactly as at first. 

There are better foundations upon which to set a cross cut saw, perhaps, 
when one is at home, but the advantage of the wedge is in being able to set the 
5aw in forest or field, in case it has been pinched by the settling of a large log, 
which is not unfrequently the case. By a uniform use of the wedge one becomes 
more efficient in handling it. By placing the wedge on the surface of a large 
stump, one has a good, solid foundation to work upon. 

Drag" Teetli of a Saw. — It will be found an advantage to leave now 
and then a straight tooth in the saw to drag or rake out the chips. I mean by 
this a tooth not set or bent in either direction. Some leave every third, others 
every fourth or fifth tooth as a drag. When the saw is filed, the scrape 
teeth should be dressed square across, and left about one-twentieth of an inch 
shorter than the beveled and set teeth. This can be determined by use of a 
straight edge. 

Ho^v to Joint a Cross Cut Saw.— An important requisite for success- 
fully working a saw is to have a true cutting surface ; that is, a surface so 



MANAGING LARGE SAWS. 399 

adjusted that the point of each beveled tooth will cut exactly in the same line, 
causing the saw to run smoothly, silently almost, and rapidly. This adjust- 
ment of teeth is accomplished by jointing the saw. 

Dress out two boards, about three-quarters of an inch thick, and as long as the 
cutting portion of the saw. Make one edge of each board to conform to the 
curve of the blade ; that is, the general rounding plane of the teeth points. This 
circular edge should be dressed up true and square with a jointer. Two pieces 
should be held together by means of four small bolts passing between the 
teeth. Place the saw between these two jaw boards, so that the points of the 
shortest teeth will be barely even with the squared edge, screw them up tight, 
and with a large file joint off the longer teeth even with the shortest ones, by 
running the file flat side down lengthwise of the saw, as shown for small blade 
on page 24. Now the saw is in proper condition for setting, if it needs it, or for 
filing, which will, of course, always be necessary. 

To File a Cross Cut Sai^v. — The same clamps that are used for joint- 
ing may be used for filing, by removing the bolts and lowering the boards 
down and screwing them in a vise. Every third, at least every fifth, tooth 
should be left straight, as before suggested, which acts as a scraper, after the 
beveled teeth have done the cutting. 

Care should be taken that the point of any one tooth may not be filed more 
than those on each side of it ; as a short tooth, whether it be dull or sharp, 
may as well be entirely removed from the saw, so far as cutting is concerned, 
as to remain. 

Do not file the first side quite up to the points, then turn and file the other 
side, then turn back and finish the first side — if necessary, turn again and finish 
the second side. But if a saw is not dull, three times filing across is sufficient. 
After a saw is filed, round off the last tooth at the point ; this will prevent 
this tooth catching in the kerf as the hand is drawn clear back and at the 
instant of starting it forward. It will also lessen the danger of bending or 
breaking. 

It is a good plan to take a file along when going to the woods for a full day's 
sawing, as the tool by use will become dulled as well as any other. It is some- 
times necessary to run the saw into the earth to get through a bedded log, and 
the saw is badly dulled by contact with gravel or larger stones. To file the saw 
away from the shop, saw down near the width of the narrowest part of the blade 
into the edge of a stump, invert the saw, set it into the kerf, put in a thin 
wedge, sharpen up both ends, then cut the kerf deeper and sharpen the belly 
or middle of the saw. 

Grease for a Cross Cut Saw. — I have found the best results from 
using animal oil that will not harden. Tallow hardens by coming in contact 
with metal and the damp interior of the log and soon disappears. The oil of small 
shack eating animals will lubricate the blade into free action for a long time. 



4oo 



MANAGING LARGE SAWS. 



Handles for Cross Cut Sa^vs. — It is the practice of some to use the 
crotch handle in the cross cut saw. The handle is worked out like an inverted 
letter V, excepting that one part should stand perpendicular, and the other slants 
when in the saw. There is no particular advantage in it when the saw is in 
the upper part of the log, but when the blade is running low the crotch handle 
saves stooping and muscle. Each part of the handle should be about the 
length of the ordinary saw handle. It should be of good timber, well seasoned, 
and, of course, worked out so as to be smooth to the touch. 

Ca*oss Cut Saw Ouide. — There are but few who can run a saw truly- 
down through a log even of small size if guided only by the eye. In sawing^ 
large logs there is always a disadvantage in getting convex and concave ends, 
when pinching takes place. To obviate this make a guide to work by. Get the 
hoop of a hogshead if the tree to be cut up is large, or a barrel hoop if of 
medium size, and after scarifying the log, put the hoop over and fasten it in 
place by a few nails. The saw can easily be run down by the edge of this, and 
the log end be made true. 

To Sharpen Circular Saws. — Put the saw in motion and hold a flat^ 
fine file against the teeth, until they are of equal length. Next take a steel pen 
dipped in ink, and as the saw revolves, apply it at the base of the deepest tooth, 
so as to make a circle upon the saw plate. Remove the saw and simply screw 
it up in the bench vise and file it between two boards of circular or other 
shape. As you have a guide line, you cannot get the saw out of round. 

Circular saws need little setting if they are to be used only on hard or per- 
fectly dry stuff. 

Filing the Mill Saw. — One great trouble in filing a mill saw arises from 
rounding the surface of the tooth edge, by carrying the file with an unsteady- 
hand. Usually there is too much pressure upon the small end of the file, 
which causes it to dip as the leverage increases. 

The Americati Agriculturist furnishes some excellent suggestions on posi- 
tion, which I quote : " The end of the file should be taken lightly between the 
thumb and fore-finger, as fig. i. There is no uneven pressure in this case, and 





FIG I. UPPER SIDE FILING. 



FIG. 2. UNDER SIDE FILING. 



the direction of the file may easily be kept perfectly level. In filing the base 
of the tooth, or the under portion of any work which cannot be turned over, 
the end of the files should be supported upon the ends of the fingers, as fig. 2, 



FARM FENCING. 40I 

or be held by the end of the thumb, in an easy, gentle manner. If helcj 
lightly, and not grasped too firmly, the arm or wrist will not be tired so soon 
as when it is held rigidly ; and the motion of the file will be more even and 
regular." 

Some mill owners file their saw teeth a little beveling, holding the tool at an 
angle of about ten degrees on the bottom of the tooth, and square or flat on 
the top, changing sides, or hands, every alternate tooth ; then bending or set- 
ting the tooth, point outwards, sufficient to keep the saw clear. This mode 
obviates, it is claimed, the necessity of swagging, which is a great saving in 
time and labor. 

A writer in the Scieiitific American, who has had long experience in a mill, 
says that it takes more power to run a saw filed in that way, because if a tooth 
is filed on angle it has a longer cutting edge than when filed straight across. 
When filing square the file is held constantly in one position, and after a little 
practice it is easier to see when it is at right angles with the saw. 

He sways the teeth so they need but very little set ; and to get that he springs 
the tooth near the plate of the saw to gain all the strength of the tooth, and 
sets it to a gauge on each side. When he starts the saw it always points 
straight ahead, the tooth being swagged makes it wider at the point, and the 
saw always runs perfectly free, and if it dodges in striking a hard knot, the cor- 
ners being sharp, on the opposite side, it will work its way into line immediately 
instead of crowding further off. 

In running saws in this way he has less trouble, and makes more and better 
lumber than those who file their saws beveling, he claims. 



FARM FENCING. 



Fencing -witli Rails. — Forest trees have died off so rapidly for the past 
few years in the timbered sections, and farmers have been so lavish in the use 
of timber, that the question is now being asked, what are we to do for fencing 
material ? The question is one of importance, and the answer should be : the 
exercise of economy in the future. 

Hickory and ash should be used only for rails ; oak and chestnut for posts ; 
beech maple and other hard timber that will not easily split, for fence boards. 
Upon many farms, rails hereafter can only be used for cross fences, posts and 
boards taking their places when lines are permanently fixed. 

Rods of Fence per Acre.— By use of figures and the change of field 
divisions, there may be a great saving made in rails, and yet good fences be sus- 
tained. To fence a farm into fifty-acre lots, crediting one-half of the fence to 
the adjoining field, it will require from three and a half to four and a half rods 



402 FARM FENCING. 

per acre ; the variation being in accordance with the shape of the fields. If 
long and narrow, more rails are required than if square. 

If the same farm was divided into twenty-five acre lots, about five rods of 
fence would be required per acre. Ten acre lots would demand eight rods, and 
five acre lots eleven rods per acre. 

Cheap liail Fence. — Where small timber is abundant and there is a 
scarcity of large, a cheap fence may be made by laying a worm with little crook 
four rails high, then putting on two halves of poles ; these placed on the edge to 
give greater height to the fence. Two stakes at each angle are driven into the 
ground, spreading some at the bottom to give strength to the fence, and are 
held by a wire. The top rail may be simply a light quarter pole supported by 
the wire. 

Preparing for Fence Building-. — Rail cuts should be drawn out to 
the place where the fence is to be built or repaired, in winter time, while the 
sled can be used, and split there. This method will save a great deal of hand- 
ling. 

How to ^plit Rails. — Almost any farmer can split rails, but there is 
considerable science in the work after all. One man will rive them out with 
apparent ease, while another will tug away and exhaust his strength in a few 
hours. The reason of this difference is owing to the weight and shape of tools 
and the knowledge of their use. One man makes a constant outlay of strength, 
while another will apply it only at an essential point, and that is when the 
beetle is descending and near the wedge. 

The Maul and Wedge. — The best maul is made of a knot, and should 
be of medium weight, not so heavy but that a man can swing it with ease. One 
iron wedge, quite slim, should be kept and used for starting the split ; it is not 
apt to rebound, and if it should, it may be easily prevented by making a few 
checks with an ax near together, and starting the wedge between them, or by 
rubbing the wedge in dirt. 

Sest Timber for a Maul. — For a good farm beetle no better material 
can be used than the knot of a tree. Hickory and white oak usually make the 
most durable mauls, but often those made of beech, maple or white ash are 
found to wear well. In selecting a knot, one should be taken that has grown 
upon or near the root of the tree, for the higher up they appear the more spalt 
and tender they will be found. 

How to Make a Maul. — To make a good beetle, the knot should be 
cut at least one year before used, and seasoned in the shade in just the shape it 
came from the tree. If worked out green, it is Hable to check, and wherever a 
check is found upon a maul head a marked difference will be seen in the wear 
of that immediate locality. 

When the knot is seasoned, bore an inch and one-fourth auger hole as 
directly through 1he center as possible from the in, or wood side, to the out or 



FARM FENCING. 403 

bark side ; then fit in the handle and trim up the head by it. Ten inches broad 
and eight inches deep is a very good size for a beetle, but some prefer heavier 
and others lighter. 

No more power can be applied to a heavy instrument than to one of medium 
weight when driving a wedge, and the labor is much more fatiguing to the one 
that swings the former. The only advantage is, that a large beetle head will 
wear longer than a small one. 

To make the bettle hang true, a straight edge must be used. Work off the 
sides so that when the straight edge is laid upon it, about same space will be 
found between the end of the handle and the straight edge that there is at the 
point where the handle enters the head. After this any desired shape may be 
given to the beetle, the only thing to be observed will be taking a uniform 
amount from all sides, as shown in engraving. 




WAY TO LAY OUT A BEETLE. 

Care of a Beetle. — A maul to wear well should be kept dry. Once 
getting throroughly wet, if used at all before drying, will do more harm than 
pounding a thousand rails under ordinary circumstances. When the earth is 
wet the beetle should not be set upon the ground when out splitting rails, for 
a very little dampness causes the grains of wood to soften, and when beat upon 
they will rise up and flake off. 

For a beetle handle nothing is better than a good stick of second growth 
hickory ; work it out smooth and do not make it too long. 

Blasting- Rail Cuts. — By the blasting process, a dime's worth of powder 
will, many times, save a half day's hard labor, besides the wear of the beetle. 
The bursting of logs with powder is a simple process, and is quickly done. 

Bore with an inch and a half auger a hole in the top of the log, about midway 
from end to end, and as deep as possible without striking the seams or heart 
checks — this can be determined by examining the ends — then put in about one- 
fourth of a pound of coarse cannon powder, if a large log, less for smaller, then 
set in at one side of the auger hole a wheat straw, filled with rifle powder, so 
that the latter connects with the former. 

The straw should be long enough to project out of the hole one inch or more. 
Now partly fill the hole with fine sand that is perfectly dry, and tamp it down 
thoroughly with a stick and mallet, repeating two or three times until en- 
tirely filled, then lay a few shavings or other light combustible matter around 
the fuse, set fire to it and withdraw to a safe distance, leaving the log from the 



404 FARM FENCING. 

end, and keeping that line, as this will avert danger in case of a sudden explo- 
sion. 

Stakes for a Fence. — If good, free splitting timber is not plenty, get 
them sawed two and a half inches square, but use nothing but durable timber. 
Make the stakes two feet longer than would be necessary if they were to last 
forever ; and then when decay has begun at the surface of the ground; (the 
place where it will appear), drive these down a few inches. In this way one 
set of stakes may be made to do service for very many years. 

Relaying Old Fence. — I do not beheve in mixing new and old rails to- 
gether when repairing, but with new corner blocks, and one new rail at the 
bottom, old material may be made to last many years. An old fence that will 
furnish six passable rails to the length may be made by using new material as 
above suggested, serviceable for years as a protection to crops. 

Hillside Fencing. — When fencing a hillside with rails, begin to lay the 
worm at the bottom of the decline and work up. In this way the lower end of 
the rail comes on top of the one further down, making it nearer a level than if 
laying the fence down hill, for in the latter case the lower end will come on the 
block and be the under rail at the lower end. 

Economy in Fencing. — A correspondent has figured out the matter of 
fencing in the most economical manner, and has decided that the board and 
post fence is cheapest, save in sections where timber is abundant. He says : 

" We will estimate the square measurement of a common rail at fourteen 
feet, and fourteen rails to the rod ; we have 196 feet of timber ; allowing four 
stakes to the rod measuring twenty-eight feet, and we have two hundred and 
twenty-four feet of lumber to the rod, and at two and a half cents per foot, a 
cost of $5.60, and this rod of rail fence will occupy about seven feet of ground. 

" For a board fence, allowing five boards in height, cap on top and battens, 
we have fifty-four and a half feet of lumber per rod, and at an estimate of two 
and a half cents per foot, or $25 per thousand, and two cedar posts at thirty 
cents each, we have an expense per rod of $1.96. Add to this one and one- 
fourth pounds of nails at six cents per pound, and we have the sum total for 
one rod of board fence $2.08. 

" I think the difference in cost of constructing the two fences to be in favor 
of the latter, when we consider the superior durability of the board fence and 
the saving of land occupied. My experience with line fences has been very 
limited, yet I believe the most approved method of setting osage orange hedge 
is to plant them zig zag, six inches each way. It will take sixty-four plants to 
set sixteen feet, which, at five cents per plant, will cost $3.20. Allowing the 
expense of setting to offset the constructing of the other fences mentioned, and 
we have the following result : 

" Rail fence per rod, $5 60; board fence per rod, $2.08 ; a difference between 
the two of $3.52 per rod, while the hedge fence costs $3.20, a difference in favor 



FARM FENCING. 



405 



of the last over the rail of $2.40, and a difference between hedge and board 
fence of $1.12 in favor of the board fence. 

" Men who have given the living fence the most attention, claim that hedges 
destroy the fertility ot the soil as far as the roots extend, which is a considera- 
ble distance. It is a fact that all trees and bushes are gross feeders upon the 
land." 

Tlie Hurdle Fence. — For cross fences, especially between meadows or 
pastures where the division lines are likely to be changed, the hurdle fence is 
probably the most economical. It should be so made that when set up it 
will be straight like the board fence, but capable of being taken down and 
removed with much greater ease than one made of rails, and which will fur- 
thermore preserve its upright position against the stress of ordinary winds. 

The hurdle, or light movable fence, is variously formed, of boards, wire or 
wicker work, in short panels, and firmly held to the ground by sharpened 
stakes at the end of each panel, and these are fastened together. It is a con- 
venient appendage to farms, where heavy green crops of clover, lucerne, peas, 
turnips, etc., are required to be fed off in successive lots, by sheep, swine or 
cattle. A hurdle fence may be made after the plan given on pages 65 and 66. 

I^traig'lit Rail Fence, — Where rails are scarce, and a permanent fence 
is to be constructed, a very good plan has been adopted by some farmers of 
back furrowing a ridge four feet wide upon the fence line, then setting stakes 
in pairs ten feet apart, and laying rails between them, the stakes being held by 
caps, pins, or wires at the top. The advantage of the back furrow is, it elevates 
the fence base so that fewer rails are required, and, again, animals cannot get 
against it to push or jump. Where hedges are desired, the soil is prepared for 
setting the plants by the process named. 



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Board and Wire Fence. — A fence made of boards and wires answers 
a very good purpose on a farm, especially where it is necessary to pay a high 
price for lumber. Three boards, six inches wide, and two wires will make a 
fence nearly five feet high and secure against both small and large animals. 



4o6 FARM FENCING. 

Put first board three or four inches from the ground, then the other two with 
four inch space between them, then above top board ten inches put a wire, 
and thirteen inches above that the second wire. If it is desirable to have the 
fence higher, another wire may be added, and the distance between the three 
wires lessened. 

The Pole Fence. — A very good, cheap and secure fence may be made 
from poles, either whole, halved or quartered. After building up at the start- 
ing point to the height desired, one set of stakes will be required for each pole 




EASILY CONSTRUCTED POLE FENCE. 



added, as shown in the illustration. As there is but little contact of separate 
pieces of timber, decay cannot be rapid, even if the most inferior species of tim- 
ber are used. 

Another style for making pole fence is, to lay a line of poles upon high blocks, 
then cross stakes, and lay in other poles until the desired height is reached. 
This fence is only suitable for large stock. 

How to Make a Rriisli Fence. — Drive stakes on the line where the 
fence is to be built every three or four feet. They may be of old material or 
poles. Have the same six feet long before driving, and sink them a foot or 
more with a maul. This had better be done when the ground is wet. The 
brush may be cut from swamp or forest, or the toppings of a hedge used, v/hich 
is better than any. Build up at the starting point, then set the brush, heeled in, 
at an angle of forty-five degrees, and keep that angle all the way, making no 
change when passing stakes. Straddle the stakes with cross laps and brading, 
and carry to the desired height. By topping once in three years a brush fence 
will last a long time. 

To Make a Thick Hedge. — After preparing the line by back furrow- 
ing, and fertilizing if the land is worn, plant eight inches apart. Cultivate well 
for three years, plow a deep furrow two and a half or three feet from the hedge 
with landside of plow next the hedge ; and have two men, one with a shovel, 
the other with thick boots, to bend (not cut) the hedge and tramp it to a hori- 
zontal position, or level with the ground diagonally with the line of hedge. 

Tramp the tops in the furrow, and throw dirt on them to hold them in posi- 
tion, leaving two and a half or three feet of the base uncovered. Thus treated. 



FARM FENCING. 407 

they will send up from ten to twenty vigorous sprouts from each plant. This 
being done in spring, in the latter part of June clip it within six inches of base 
of sprouts. 

The September following cHp it six inches higher, and continue the clippmg 
semi-annually until your hedge gets the desired height, and it will be two or 
three feet thick at base, and impassable to man or beast. So says an old expe- 
rienced Western hedge grower. 

Planting tlie Osage Hedge. — A hedge grower of extensive experience 
says that for planting, if your land is in turf, plow deep and subsoil a strip six 
feet in width, and plant with potatoes the spring previous. Just before planting 
the hedge, plow again and harrow fine, then stake off the ground by setting a 
requisite number of sight stakes in line where you want the outside row ; then 
prepare a line, say fifty or more feet in length, by tying on it bits of colored 
yarn twice the distance apart you want your plants; tie each end of the line to 
sharpened stakes two feet in length ; stretch the line in row with your sight 
stakes, and you are ready for operations. 

Two years old plants are preferable, unless the yearlings are very vigorous ; 
trim to eight or nine inches long, cutting off the tops within one inch of the yel- 
low. Set two rows, and the plants eighteen inches apart in each row, the rows 
nine inches apart. Dig the first hole by the mark on the line, set in the plant 
and fill around it with earth taken from where the next plant will stand, which 
will be half way between the plant just set and the next mark on the line, but 
nine inches from the line. This being set, fill around it with earth taken from 
where the next plant will stand at the second mark on the line, and so continue 
until the line is set. 

Take up the stake where you commenced, letting the one stand where you 
left off, and place as at the first ; then tread the earth firmly about the plants by 
slowly walking the length of one row, the plants being between your feet, and 
if you see a plant that does not stand square, now is the time to right it up into 
proper position. 

After you have trod both rows in this manner, take your spade and finish the 
planting by filling around the plants till the tops only are seen. This dressing 
should be left without treading. Your hedge is now well planted, and a quick 
workman will plant sixty rods in a day, the plants being furnished and dis- 
tributed on the ground. 

To Trim Osage Hedge. — The next spring cut down to within three 
inches of the ground ; and in June, if the hedge has made good growth, cut to 
within four inches of the previous trimming, and so continue until the hedge is 
completed. 

A hedge planted and trimmed after the plan given, instead of being open at 
the bottom, will be very dense, and will turn swine or other small animals at a 
very early age. 



4o8 



FARM FENCING. 



Farm Soarcl Fences and Crate§. — Board fences and gates on the 
farm are yearly coming more and more into use. As to different styles, manner 
of construction, making most durable, etc., the subject will be found very fully 
treated on pages 59 to 72. 




BRACE FENCE FOR MARSHES. 

Ffence for Marsliy Land. — In marshes, where there is liable to be an 
overflow at times of heavy rains, a board fence may be constructed, and then 
braced from the lower side, as shown in the illustration. 

A few feet from the fence posts drive down solid stakes, allowing them to 
extend above the surface of the ground about a foot, and then spike braces from 
these to the fence posts, at a point near the top of the latter. A fence thus 
built will withstand the pressure of quite heavy floods of water, such as would 
sweep away a common post and board lence. 

A Farm Hitcliing* Post. — The post should be dressed down from the 
body of a tree, white oak or chestnut, leaving that part that goes into the 
ground full size. Plane the post smooth, so that it may be painted. Plate the 
top with tin or sheet iron after it has been rounded, and provide with ring and 
chain. The chain should be five feet long, with a snap on each end. Fasten 
the chain to the post by a staple, one-third the way from one end of the chain 
to the other. The short end of the chain will serve for a single horse or the 
nearest horse in a team, and the long end will be right for the horse furthest 
from the post. Put two such posts six or eight feet apart, and make a platform 
between them from which to get into wagons, with steps to ascend to the 
platform from the sidewalk, and you have a very desirable accompaniment to a 
well appointed home. 

To Lift Posts Out of <Kround. — By the use of a team, posts that are 
firmly set may be raised out of the ground with comparative ease. The chain 
should be a long one, and stout enough for the work. The chain is put around 
the post at the base and a stout prop put under it a few feet away and inclined 
toward the post, after the manner described under head of stump pulling; 
then let the team draw. There are very few posts so tight in the ground that 



FARM FENCING. 409 

they cannot be drawn up by the simple process. In this way a long line of 
fence may be removed in a single day. The shape of fields is sometimes greatly 
improved by a change in the boundary fences, and lanes and cattle yards 
rendered much more convenient where a removal of the lines can be made. 

To Straighten Up Posts. — Do not neglect to straighten up fence posts 
while the ground is soft ; brace them up, and do not remove the props until the 
ground has settled. It is almost impossible to straighten up a board fence at 
any other time than spring. 




CROSS-RAIL POST HOLDER. 

Holder for Post Sharpening. — A device for holding posts while they 
are being sharpened may be quickly prepared by crossing two rails and pinning 
them or binding so as to form a crotch, as shown in engraving. The rails may 
be supported just back of the cross by any convenient object. The lower ends 
of the rails should be held fast by driving a stake with prongs down, or by spik- 
ing the stakes to the rails. 

In place of the rails scantling may be used, or a small tree cut with a crotched 
end, and supported by a small stump or two other crotches, set bracing back- 
ward. By a bit of trace chain the post may be held in place. A shoulder 
block should be used to hew upon. 

HoAV to Use Rotted Off Posts. — Saw off as much of the adhering 
decayed wood as it may be necessary to remove in order to get a solid bearing, 
and squarely across one of the flat sides of the post, about four inches from the 
end thus cleft, saw to the depth of about three-quarters of an inch. The piece 
thus partially separated cut out with a hatchet, making what is sometimes 
called a half mortise. Nail into this a piece of inch oak board, six inches wide 
and about three and a half feet long, so as to project equally on each side of 
the post. 

The whole, when set upright, rests upon the edge of the inch board, and is in 
shape like the inverted letter T. Set in between two sound posts in a line of 
fence, the repaired one stands well, since it cannot lean laterally because the 
ends of the cross board project on each side of the line. 

In setting, should the surface be uneven, the placing or removal of a little 
earth suffices to level the base. 



4IO FARM FENCING. 

Perifianeiit Oate Posts, — A farmer recommends the plan of leaving^ 
trees, when clearing up land, at such points as gates will likely be needed. He 
says that a thrifty tree is the best support against which to hang a gate, as it 
will not sag, like a gate post artificially set in the ground, and so liable to get 
out of order. Besides, the "tree by the gate" is an ornament in the field, and 
will make an acceptable shade to the patient cows which are waiting to be 
taken home. 

Trees of quick growth may be planted where wanted in cleared fields, and 
but few years will pass before they will be large enough for use. It is not ad- 
visable to put the common locusts into the fields on account of spreading so.. 
The white willow will answer, perhaps. 




FARM GARDEN SAFETY GATE. 



Farmer's Oarden Oate. — At the time when the garden products have 
matured and are of most value, it very frequently occurs that the farmer desires 
to feed off his meadow or house lot adjoining the garden, and the gate becomes 
an object of anxiety. Fear is entertained that it will be left open or forced open 
by the live stock. 

A gate constructed after the manner of the one shown in the engraving obvi- 
ates all trouble. While a man can pass without difficulty, it will be impossible 
for a cow or sheep to do so. The curve should be so narrow at the ends that 
the gate in turning to right or left will strike the curve a little distance from 
the ends, and of course that stops further progress. The distance between end 
of gate and center of curve should be just sufficient to let a person pass. 

Bars Upon the Farm. — A thorough-going, forehanded farmer will 
never have but few bars upon the premises, for experience will soon teach 
that gates are much more convenient, safer against the ingenuity of unruly 
stock, and are not liable to make horses breachy. 

The farmer who is in the habit of letting down the corner of his fences here 
and there, for passing from one field to another, will never have a definite road 
laid out, and never have his fences in good order. A corner cannot be put 
down and up again, even once, without racking the fence, and when the opera- 
tion is performed several times, the structure becomes an insufficient protection 
to crops. Then I say bars are an improvement, but in saying this I would by 
no means commend them for general use. 

Among the objections to bars may be mentioned, first : They consume a 
great deal of time in handling ; second, horses are very liable to get into bad 



HOW TO BUILD A WIRE FENCE. 411 

habits by being made to leap over the bars after being partly let down at one 
end — this is fun for the boys, but is a serious misfortune to the owner of the 
animal ; third, swine and cattle will often learn to push the sections, and pass 
into another field at will ; fourth, animals are subject to injury when passing 
over the bars let down, by getting their legs between the sections. 

To prevent the bars being shoved by animals, have a shoulder at the drop 
end, and the tenon reach through the post, so as to take a small pin horizon- 
tally. These pins may be of hickory, and fastened to the post by a short cord 
or small chain, so as to save holding or dropping them to the ground when- 
removed. 

Timber for Bar§. — Basswood, red elm, and white ash are the best tim- 
ber for the bars. They should be an inch and a quarter thick, and six or seven 
inches wide. Before making the bars, pile the lumber straight, and let it sea- 
son sufficiently to retain a straight position. Crooked bars are unsightly things, 
and will be an eyesore to any farmer of taste. 

To MaRe Bars. — Dress the bars with a plane, and round both lower 
and upper edges with a light draw shave, so that they will be smooth to handle. 
A coat of paint will add both to appearance and utility. 



HOW TO BUILD A WIRE FENCE. 



Fence for Large Stock. — Upon this subject I cannot do better than to 
give a letter written by a prairie agriculturist, who has had a ripe experience in 
wire fence making: 

I built two miles by driving posts eight feet apart. I put on four wires (No. 8) 
with staples, and strained up with rollers against the post, and thought I had a 
good fence. The next spring I built one mile, posts sixteen feet apart, wire put 
on with staples, but the staples pulled out. 

I built another mile, five wires, posts twenty feet apart, wire put through 
three-fourth inch holes bored in the posts, and stays put on with staples. The 
stays were eight feet apart ; then No. i6 soft wire put on for another stay, 
making the stays every four feet. 

I strained the wire with two inch oak pins, put in a heavy flat post, with the 
hole mortised in square two inches, to hold the head of the pin, which is made 
square and turned with a monkey-wrench to tighten the wires. 

This made a good fence and the best I had built. No cattle have been 
through it. It is with difficulty that a man can get through. 

Wire Fence for Slieep. — I have fenced a pasture to keep sheep in,, 
which never were stopped by fence before, and this fence I call a good one, 
and I will tell how to make it. Set the corner post three feet in the ground,. 



412 HOW TO BUILD A WIRE FENCE. 

with a two inch oak pin through near the bottom, two feet long, then put heavy 
stones on the pin, and fill the hole up with stones. This is to keep it from pull- 
ing up, which it will do if not well secured. This post must be braced. 

Have good, straight, strong posts ; set them thirty-two feet apart. After set- 
ting, (which we do by sharpening and driving with a sixteen-pound sledge, put- 
ling them down two feet at least,) bore the holes with a three-fourth inch bit to 
run the wire through. 

Five wires should be put on, for cattle, eight inches apart ; and seven wires 
six inches apart — except the top one, which may be eight inches — for sheep. 
Use No. 8 wire for at least half the upper part of the fence, and still better if all 
used is No. 8. 

HoAV to Wire. — Commence at the first post from the corner post to put 
the wire through the holes. Unroll the wire, which is best done by putting a 
coil on a roll made for the purpose ; run the wire all off, then fasten the end to 
the corner post. Put on all the wires in a similar manner before moving on, 
then move on to the end of the wires unrolled and unroll another, splicing each 
time as they run off. 

How to Splice, — The splicing should be done by lapping the two ends 
ten inches and twisting together, and looping the ends back so as not to 
draw through. This makes a splice that will pass through the holes. ~ 

Tig'litening^ the Wire. — Put on about forty rods in length, then take a 
strong " hand-spike" and loop a wire around it, and have two men strain the 
wire tight enough to take all the kinks out. This is done by sticking one end of 
the lever in the ground. 

Ho^v to Make a Strainer, — When all are strained, put on the " strain- 
ers" at the end of each wire. This " strainer" is my own invention, not yet 
patented. It is made of No. 8 inch wire, in this way : 

Take a piece of good wire three feet long, bend it around so the ends lap 
two inches ; twist them well together and loop the ends back ; flatten down the two 
strands so as to be three inches apart ; take each end in your hands and bend 
the center over a two inch round stick until the two ends come together. This 
makes a sort of clevis. Then make a two inch hardwood pin, ten inches 
long, with one end shaped to put a monkey wrench on to turn it. 

Bore a small hole in the middle, to put one end of the wire through to fasten 
the wire to the pin ; then bore a three-fourth inch hole, one and one-half inches 
from this, to put a stick in a foot long. This is to keep the pin from turning 
back when strained up. 

The stick must be lashed to the wire. Now splice one strand of the fence 
wire on the wire strainer, put the two inch pin through the two loops in the 
other end, and commence unrolling wire as before, and connect the end to the 
pin by running it through the little hole, bending the wire around the pin. 

This strainer will strain from both ways as tight as is necessar)^ — you can 



HOW TO BUILD A WIRE FENCE. 415 

Strain eighty rods, if the ground is level. When the wires are all on, strain up 
by turning the pins, which serve as rollers, with a wrench. 

The Key Wire Stretelier. — Another writer upon the subject of tight- 
ening wire, says that among all the contrivances he has met with and tested, 
no device does he consider as good as the principle by which a violinist applies 
the tension to the strings of his instrument. It is simple, cheap and efficacious. 
No machinery (except some pieces of half inch round iron to answer for the 
screws, and a short iron bar) is necessary. 

Brace the posts at the extreme ends of the trellis firmly ; secure the wire to 
the further one by a staple driven round and against it, or by lapping it twice 
around the post and then about itself. Then lift the wire to the proper 
height at each post, and support it by a staple, driven in. 

The irons or screws to which the wires are to be fastened (they are called 
screws, though they have no threads) are to be fitted tightly in their places, sa 
that the tension will not turn them back. One end should be doubled over by 
the blacksmith, so that when in place, a short bar of one inch iron can be 
inserted by which to apply the tension. 

Just outside the post the screw should be pierced sufficiently to admit the- 
passage of the trellis wire through it ; this can be fastened by winding it around 
the screw once or twice and then over the wire itself a few inches, and then the 
tension can be applied. The wire winds upon the iron key or screw to which 
it is fastened precisely after the manner of a violin string, and is kept at the 
desired tension on the same principle. 

As winter approaches the tensions may be lessened a little, if any danger is. 
apprehended from contraction. It can be regulated in almost a moment, and 
without hard work or any other machinery than the bar, and there is no limit 
to the power which may be applied, except the strength of the wire, or of the 
braces which keep the end posts in position. One man can put up the wires,, 
and the trellis may be of almost any length. As only one set (four) screws are 
needed to a row, the longer the rows the less the cost for this item of trellising. 

Putting on the Stays.— When well strained, which is one of the im- 
portant things in a wire fence, put on the stays with staples eight feet apart, 
drive the second staple from the top and bottom wire tight up on the wire, 
leave the rest a little loose so the wire will slip through. Next put on No. 16 
annealed wire for additional stays, which will make them four feet apart. If the 
work is well done you will have a good wire fence, 

Things to be Observed. — Two things are necessary. Have the corner 
posts firm and well braced, and the wires strained tight. 

Now as to the advantage of putting the posts so far apart. It takes so many 
less posts, and the fence sways a little when a horse or other animal comes 
against it, and again springs back. The stays should not touch the ground tO' 
prevent its coming back. Make the fence four feet high. 



414 



CONSTRUCTING FLOOD GATES. 

CONSTRUCTING FLOOD GATES. 



Crotch and Pole Flood Oatc— One very seldom sees a flood gate 
that will stand a heavy freshet. A pole that will turn in a couple of crotches 




OLD STYLE FLOOD GATE. 

with a few boards attached is the usual form of construction, and they need 
building over every year to make them at all secure. This is poor economy. 
They should be so built at first so as to last for a long period, and be a safeguard 
all the time. 

Flood Oate Piers. — These should be made of stone cemented together, 
or of log cribs well locked and filled with stone. They should be made large, con- 
siderably higher than the stream ever rises, and have their foundations so far 
beneath the surface as to prevent heaving by frost or undermining by floods. 
This will cause a slightly greater expense, but when properly constructed they 
will not need repairing every year. 

The Cross Pole. — Resting on secure cribs, across the stream is placed a 
large pole eight or ten inches through, to which the gate is attached. This pole 
should rest on gudgeons, which should be blocks of hard wood. A staple 
should pass over the pole ends, firmly fastening them to the piers, but allowing 
the gate to turn very easily. 

Makiiig^ the S^veep. — As for the gate, but few are rightly constructed. 
Most builders appear to think the greater space they leave the better, while the 
reverse is the fact. Suppose the gate is constructed of six strips four inches 
apart ; when the flood swings the gate before it, it swings all the edges of those 
strips against it, which, if they are an inch thick, gives six inches of surface 
against which the entire force of water is expended, which is sufficient, if the 
gate is weak in any part, to break and bear it away. On the contrary the gate 
should be boarded tight— not a crack left— so that the force of the water will be 
expended in turning it, or rather simply holding it up while the flood passes. 

The Hinge G-ate. — If one prefers, the cross pole may be made solid by 



THE CHOPPING AX. 



415 



pinning to the crib, and the gate hung by stout iron hinges. The only advantage 
in this is, the gate may be removed for repairs if ever damaged, but the neces- 
sity of removing is hardly probable. 

The Slat Flood Gate. — A gate made with perpendicular slats has been 
used by some with tolerably good results. The pole or scantling to which the 
slats are attached should have a broad, flat surface, so that each slat may have 
two heavy nails or spikes driven a few inches apart for bracing support. The 
illustration will give a clear idea of its construction. 



'. '.°'. '. ." ' ! c ; ; ! ; ; ;■ i : '■. 



CHEAP SLAT FLOOD GATE. 



With this gate there are no water resisting edges of boards, and no chance 
for lodgment of ice or fine flood trash. Each slat stands independent like a 
tooth of a revolving horse rake, and repairs cannot at any time be very ex- 
tensive. 



THE CHOPPING AX. 



Selecting an Ax. — In selecting an ax, weight and quality are important 
points to be observed, but no more so than proportion. Look to it that the poll 
or head is neither too heavy nor too light for the bit, for with either defect the 
ax will always be out of balance. Not unfrequently have I seen axes with far 
too much bit, and the consequence was wabbling when swinging in the air, and 
descending with uncertain stroke. With an ax out of balance by use, a remedy 
may be found in filling the eye a little with lead on upper or lower side, as the 
implement requires. 

Ax L-oosening on Helve. — Sometimes it is quite difficult to so hang 
an ax that it will not by use get loose upon the helve, and where this is the case, 
the trouble may be known to exist in one of three things : either the eye in 
the head is not of the right shape, the timber in the helve is green and spongy 
or the wedging on was not done as it should have been. 

Often by filing away the edges of the eye so as to make them beveling a little, 



4l6 THE CHOPPING AX. 

the trouble is obvi-ated, but most usually the difficulty arises in not knowing" 
how to wedge up properly. For wedges, hard or flinty timber should not be 
used, for, made of such, they will work out in a short time. A piece of spalt 
oak is best, and should be well seasoned and made thin. 

Split the helve as deeply as possible while it is in the head, then drive the 
wedge carefully, but firmly. If the helve is green at the time it is put in, it wiU 
very likely become loose after using a short time ; in this case, remove the old 
wedge if it can be done handily, and supply with one thicker ; but if it cannot 
be easily done, use a lighter one beside the old. 

How to Hang: an Ax. — When hanging an ax, a very good rule is to so 
set the head that a straight edge laid upon the outer end of the helve, at 
the point where the little finger comes when grasping for chopping, the line 
will strike the center of the cut, or the middle of the crowning edge ; also, so- 
that by sighting over the center of the outer end of the helve, the bit will be in 
exact line with the whole length of the helve. 

Never burn the wood from the eye of an ax when you wish to put in a new 
helve, but bore a hole with a five-eighth bit through the center, and by use of 
a half inch chisel the wood may be removed. To avoid injuring the bit, bore 
from each side of the head, half way through. 

Care of an Ax. — There is no tool about the premises more generally 
neglected than the ax. It is left on the ground or stuck in a log out of doors 
through rain and storm, and not unfrequently used as a hammer or maul. The 
damages arising from such misuse are in roughened and warped helve, and an 
early giving out from the rotting of the timber at the eye. 

The air resistance is a matter of importance, also, and where the head of the 
ax is battered by use for driving iron wedges or breaking stone, the air resist- 
ance is greatly increased, and this will tell upon the chopper who swings the 
instrument all day. When through using the ax it should be placed where it 
will keep dry. The chopping ax should never be used for wood splitting. An 
old head, well hung, will do for this work. 

The Double Bitted Ax. — Some have strongly advocated the use of a 
double bitted ax, claiming that you can use thirty or forty per cent, more weight 
with the same labor than you can with a single bit, or ax with a poll, and that 
the reason of this will be readily seen when you apply the principles of atmos- 
pheric pressure to the two kinds. In lifting the poll ax you have a dead lift of 
at least three square inches against the air, which, if philosophers be correct in 
estimating the weight of the atmosphere at fifteen pounds to the square inch, it 
is a lift of forty-five pounds. 

In lifting the double bitted ax, it is argued you present to the atmosphere a 
sharp edge with two smooth and gently inclined planes, which not only meet 
with much less resistance, but which in the descending or cutting motion of the 
arm so fix and steady the opposite bit of the ax as to enable you to strike with 



SPLIT AND SHAVED SHINGLES. 



417 



much greater accuracy, and consequently to save most all the labor expended 
in handling. 

The position is not well taken, and no amount of argument will induce wood 
choppers to adopt it. If both bits are to be used, the helve would necessarily 
have to be straight. It is quite impracticable for any woodsman to chop as 
fast or as smoothly with a straight helved ax as with one having a helve of a 
proper curvature and an elliptical form between the hilt and the portion that 
enters the eye of the ax. A curved helve aids materially in putting the edge of 
an ax repeatedly in the same cut with almost unvarying precision. 



SPLIT AND SHAVED SHINGLES. 



Timber for l^timgles. — Quality as well as kind of timber is an important 
consideration in shingle making. Live timber should be used of whatever kind 
is employed. Pine is best, cedar, white ash, oak, hemlock, chestnut, etc., follow. 
See page 48. 

Sawing^ IShiiigle Blocks. — The lengths of shingles vary from fourteen 
to twenty-four inches, but the length I would recommend is sixteen inches. 
The blocks should be sawed as true as possible that a regular line may be 
formed by the butts when the roof is made. If the blocks are not to be split 
at once, place them top ends downward upon the earth, so that they will not 
become dried and checked. It is always best to not cut the timber until you 
are ready to make the shingle, and then rive the blocks fresh from the saw. 

Riving Shingle Blocks. — Place the block upon the butt end, then with 
chalk lay out the uppermost end, as represented in the illustration. Both heart 





SHINGLE SEGMENT. 



SHINGLE BLOCK, WITH 
RIVING LINES. 



and sap should split off. Rive up into blocks or segments for four shingles 
each, then split in the center, which will leave the blocks in sections of about 
three-quarters of an inch in thickness. 

Thus far the work can be done by use of the ax and frow and mallet, but 
the balance of the splitting must be accomplished by hand pressure upon the 



4i8 



SPLIT AND SHAVED SHINGLES. 



frow handle, after the mallet has been used to start the blade into the end. In 
the top of a piece of square timber, or a log with flattened surface on top, cut a 
slot by means of saw and chisel an inch and a half or two inches wide, and 
about three inches deep. The end of the shingle block is held in this when 
divided, and by it the split may be carried evenly through. When pressing 
upon the frow handle the separating fiber should be closely watched, and if the 
split is running to one side, invert the piece and the course of the split will be 
changed when pressure is applied to the frow handle again. 

I^Iiiiii^le FroAV and Mallet.— The frow can be made by any blacksmith, 
out of a piece of two horse wagon tire, and the mallet made at home out of a 
piece of tough, hard wood. The best material for a cheap mallet is a section ot 
a small tree. Cut it about fourteen inches long, five inches through, and work 
down eight inches of it into a smooth, round handle. 



U 



iiilil iliiiiiiiliilss 




SHTNGLE FROW. 



CHEAP SHINGLE MALLHT. 



The ^liaviiig^ Horse. — Where men make a business of shingle making, 
the double shaving horse is used, but for the farmer who wishes to make suffi- 
cient shingles to cover a building or two, that trouble and expense is not at all 
necessary. A good shaving horse may be made of a plank eight inches wide. 
The illustration shows the manner of constructing it so plainly that description 




SIMPLE AND CHEAP SHAVING HORSE. 

is not necessary. The lower end of the plank should be pinned or spiked 
down. The plank may be ten or twelve feet long, and the length of the legs 
govern the pitch. 

Buiie]mi§r Shingles.— Where the shingles are to be used upon the prem- 
ises it is not necessary to bunch them, but they may be piled in the same order, 
double rows, butts out and thin ends lapped, until wanted. When they are to 



PREPARING FIRE WOOD. 419 

be moved by wagon it is better to put tiiem up in bunches of five hundred each. 
Four inches in width counts one shingle, so a shingle eight inches wide is two 
shingles ; one six inches wide, a shingle and a half. To contain five hundred 
shingles, the bunch frame should be thirty-two inches wide, and there should 
be thirty-one double courses of shingles. In exact measurement it will lack 
four shingles of five hundred, but near enough for all practical purposes. 

After the shingles have been placed in the frame and the top binder ready to 
be put on, a lever should be used to press them down firmly. This can be 
easily constructed by use of a long pole and a block for making the pressure 
with. Put the binding bar upon the side sticks, then place the block upon the 




BUNCH, AS SHINGLES SHOULD BE PACKED. 



center of the bar, and apply the lever ; while one person presses down, another 
should saw off, split and wedge the side pins, and the work is done. Keep the 
butts and edges in line, so that when finished the bunch will appear as repre- 
sented in the engraving. 



PREPARING FIRE-WOOD. 



Wood Salving- Macliiiies. — Years ago, when the forests were abun- 
dant and timber land of the least value of any part of the farm to the husband- 
man, the ax was the best available implement for preparing fire-wood, but at 
the present time it should be used only as a minor aid. Time is too valuable 
and timber too scarce in most sections to make the old system anything but 
unprofitable. 

The farmer cannot afford in these days of mechanical aids and substitutes to 
prepare his fuel by an entire use of muscle, and I commend the plan adopted 
by some of either owning a sawing machine independently, or by neighbors 
owning one in company, and sawing up all the fuel wanted for the year at a 
certain time in cool weather most convenient to the owner or owners thereof. 

The farmer who thinks that a horse power and attachment, or an interest in 
the same, would be too expensive for him to indulge in, has not, I believe, fully 
considered the advantages to be derived from such a piece of machinery. 

In the first place it may be appropriated to various uses about the premises ; 
attached to thrashers, straw cutters, root Gutters, lathes, clover hullers, etc., be- 



420 PREPARING FIRE WOOD. 

sides its most important and valuable use in wood sawing. It will pay for itself 
every year in the saving of timber, time and labor. 

Trees that would rot in the forest before any one would attempt to convert 
them into stove wood by the ax alone, can be easily utilized by a machine, and 
the whole labor of preparing fire-wood for the year, accomplished in a few days, 
instead of weeks, by dependence upon the primitive plan, 

l^eason for Preparing Wood. — As to season for this work, I prefer 
winter, when the earth is frozen solid, at least this time for preparing logs for 
the machine. The logs should be hauled to the house and sawed there as con- 
venience will permit. 

There is a double advantage in this. First, it saves a great deal of handling, 
as the wood does not have to be loaded and unloaded, and more can be drawn 
in logs upon a crotch or dray than upon a wagon. 

In the second place the farmer's work is so handy that he can begin early and 
work late if desired ; have means at hand if breakage occur to repair again, and 
the splitting of blocks for odd job work, if this part cannot be attended to at the 
time of sawing. 

It is better, it possible, to do the whole at once if it may be, for the blocks 
split much easier when first cut than, they will after the atmosphere has dried 
the grains of the surface timber. If the blocks must lie for a time, place them 
on end so as to prevent as far as possible the drying out of the sap. 

How to ^plit Wood. — It is not always understood that much advan- 
tage may be taken of hard labor, when splitting wood, by stabbing off the sides 
of the block instead of splitting through the center. When a log is sawed into 
short cuts, for example, to be split into fire-wood, two iron wedges and a beetle 
may be necessary to open a cut through the heart. But by taking off thin 
slabs, all of the splitting may be done with only an ax. 




BLOCK HO-.DER FOR WOOD SPLITTING. 



Sugar maple is sometimes so difficult to split through the heart, that a la- 
borer may drive in all his wedges and gluts without being able to open a log 
four feet long ; whereas were the cut slabbed, the splitting could be performed 
with comparatively little labor. Then, after a log is split into slabs, the labor of 
splitting the slabs the other way will be comparatively light. 

Holder for Splitting Wood. — After a block has been slabbed up, a 
holder will be found of advantage in finishing the work. A good holder may 



PREPARING FIRE-WOOD. 421 

be made of the crotch of a tree, one that will hold the stick of wood firmly, and 
at the same time protect the workman's feet against the liability of being cut. 

At the wood pile, when it is not convenient to obtain a crotch, two straight 
bits of logs from eight to twelve inches through may be staked in position par- 
allel, six or eight inches apart, or to make it portable, holes may be bored near 
the ends, and the two logs held a few inches apart by means of stout cross 
pieces or pins. 

Oreeii and Dry Wood for Fuel. — A great loss is often sustained in 
burning green wood for fuel, from an ignorance of the vast amount of latent 
heat consumed to drive off the water the wood contains. When perfectly 
green, it loses about one-third of its weight by thorough seasoning, which is 
equal to about twenty-five cubic feet in every compact cord, or one hundred and 
fifty-six gallons. 

Now all this water must be evaporated before the wood is burned. The heat 
thus made latent and lost, being five times as great as to heat the water to boil- 
ing, is equal to enough for boiling seven hundred and eighty gallons in 
burning up every cord of green wood. The farmer, therefore, who burns 
twenty-five green cords in a winter, loses heat enough to boil more than fifteen 
thousand gallons of water, which would be saved if his wood had been pre- 
viously well seasoned under shelter. 

The loss in using green fuel, however, is sometimes overrated. It has been found 
by experiment that one pound of the best seasoned wood is sufficient to heat 
twenty-seven pounds of water from the freezing to the boiling point. It should 
be remembered that by ordinary modes of heating water, a very large propor- 
tion of the heat is wasted by going up the chimney, and mto surrounding bodies, 
and the air. This will be equal to heating and evaporating four pounds of water 
by every pound of wood. 

The twenty-five cubic feet of water, therefore, in every cord of green wood, 
weighing several hundred pounds, would require nearly four hundred pounds 
of v.'ood for its evaporation, or about one-seventh or one-eighth of a 
cord. Hence we may infer that seven cords of dry wood are about equal to 
eight cords of green. 

This imperfect estimate will apply only to the best hard wood, and will vary 
exceedingly with the different sorts of fuel ; the more porous the wood becomes, 
the greater will be the necessity for thorough seasoning. 

Superficial observation often leads to very erroneous conclusions. Seasoned 
wood will sometimes burn with great rapidity, and producing an intense heat 
for a short time, will favor an overestimate of its superiority. 

Green wood kindles with difficulty, and burns slowly, and for a long time ; 
hence, where the draught of the chimney cannot be controlled, it may be the 
most economical, because a less proportion of heat may be swept upward than 
by the more violent draught produced from dry materials. Where the draught 



422 FORESTS AND THEIR PRESERVATION. 

can be perfectly regulated, however, seasoned wood should be always used, both 
for convenience and comfort, and for economy. 

Where wood is to be drawn to a distance, the preceding estimate shows the 
conveyance of more than half a ton of water*is avoided in every cord by sea- 
soning. 



FORESTS AND THEIR PRESERVATION. 



Destruction of Forests. — Wood is becoming an important item in 
some sections, and upon some farms, where heretofore there has been an abund- 
ance, and the question very naturally arises : What are we to do a few years 
hence for fuel and fence material, if our timber passes away as fast as it has 
recently ? 

One reason that forests are dying out so fast in the older portions of the coun- 
try, is on account of the exposure of the roots to the sun's heat. Nature made 
them self-shading by density and undergrowth ; but through the eagerness of 
the farmer to increase his tillable acres, he has narrowed them down into small 
belts and plats, and allowed his domestic animals to strip and kill out every 
rooted sprig within their reach. 

Wagons are thundered over the roots without mercy ; marks of the ax may 
be seen upon the most thrifty trees, and when felling one, two or three others 
are mangled and torn from lack of care. When a lever or skid is wanted, a 
young, thrifty sapling is cut ; and through these causes the wooded lands are 
fast becoming open fields. 

Another evil is the skmning process, which some practice, of taking every 
tree that will make staves, hewing timber, lumber or anything that can be sold 
in the market, though the price received be little more than a fair compensation 
for the labor bestowed. 

Fine trees are cut down before they have half attained their maturity, and 
thus the goose that would lay the golden eggs is killed. This miserable practice 
is not simply skinning the land, but is as certainly skinning posterity. 

Many farmers have been accustomed to use only the best wood for fire. 
Everything except one or two favorite kinds is left to decay upon the ground. 
From year to year the process of culling goes on, and what is wasted exceeds 
what is used, until the finest woodland becomes comparatively valueless. 

There is still another waste of timber growing out of the opposite spirit. 
Some persons are so choice of their fine old trees that they cannot be prevailed 
on to cut, and convert to any useful purpose, such as have reached or actually 
passed their most perfect state. 

To avoid waste every tree should be used before decay commences, in order 



FORESTS AND THEIR PRESERVATION. 423 

that the space and nutriment may be appropriated by such as will make a more 
vigorous growth. In fact, there may be waste both by tree murdering and by 
tree worshiping. 

To Save the Forests. — To save the forests, they must be inclosed and 
protected ; underbrush must be allowed to spring up, to keep the soil from be- 
ing parched with the sun ; no living thing cut unless absolutely needed ; and in 
this way the woods standing to-day may be made to improve every year in future. 

Board fences are much more economical than rail, and old fences are greatly 
prolonged by frequent laying over, putting under new blocks, and a sound rail 
at the bottom. 

An immense amount of timber might be saved by working up logs in a dry 
time, that at another time would not be considered fit for fuel. Old trees are 
scattered all through the woods, sap-rotten, but sound as a nut at the heart ; 
and if worked up, and put under shelter, will make good fire-wood. 

The way to prevent the necessity of chopping into trees to find, in winter, 
whether they are alive or not, is to go through the forest when it is in full foliage 
and mark all the dead trees. Those which are only partly dead and dying may 
have different marks from those entirely lifeless. 

Felling' Forest Trees. — A matter which needs careful attention is that 
of felling trees. When the. falling objects are allowed to crush away half of 
the tops of such trees as stand in their course, or to rake and scarify their trunks 
from limb to root, it must be expected that irreparable damage is done, and it 
may not be wondered at if these injured objects soon die, or at least begin to 
fall into a gradual decay. If a tree is not inclined in the most favorable direc- 
tion for dropping without injury to others, either let it remain standing or force 
it by use of a spring pole ; don't mangle up your trees, at all events unless 
there is a large surplus to be got rid of. 

Using Trucks in tlie Forest. — More work is done in the woods dur- 
ing winter and spring than in the summer, and the work is far more detrimen- 
tal. Trucks and sleds are driven in all directions through the forests for hauling 
logs, fuel and gathering sap, and a constant and severe injury is perpetrated 
upon the roots of the standing, live trees. 

It is a matter of decided importance that a general road be laid out, and this 
so located as to prevent the damage above alluded to. I have often noticed in 
the forests of supposed-to-be-careful farmers, scores of trees with the bark of 
the outstanding roots torn away, and the surface wood bruised by the heedless 
trundling of vehicles over them. 

Trees for Fire-wood. — It is scarcely necessary in ordinary cases to ever 
cut a living tree ; and yet have sound, body wood for family use in winter, and 
when it is necessary, there should be a selection of such as have fallen into a 
decline. Such trees should be taken as are not fit for sawing or splitting into 
fence stakes. 



424 FORESTS AND THEIR PRESERVATION. 

Scantling for ^kids. — When hauling logs or sled length wood, do not 
cut a nice thrifty tree for skids every time a load is taken, as is the too common 
habit. A couple of four by six scantling well seasoned, make good, light skids, 
and will last many seasons by housing during the summer. 

When the last load is taken from a certain locality in the woods, put the skids 
upon the sled and take them out to the main road and leave them there until 
you return for another. Handspikes may be made to last for years also by care, 
they are lighter and better by being seasoned. 

CleariiBg- up a Forest. — Over a great portion of the woodland, old logs, 
oak tops, etc., are lying, which, to the farmers in general, are considered worth- 
less ; but in them are cords of good summer wood, if only worked up at the 
proper time. 

The best way to manage these is to haul them out of the woods in the winter 
on to some open field, and lay them up from the ground a few inches, and when 
they are thoroughly dry the following summer, saw and split them up into fire- 
wood ; and after being corded in the field a few weeks, pack in the wood house. 
Any one who has not tried this method of economizing in timber, will be aston- 
ished at what an immense quantity of good summer fuel may be obtained from 
material commonly counted as worthless. 

Testing- Soundness of Timber. — It is claimed by some that they can 
tell whether a tree is sound at the heart or not by striking it with an ax, also 
by the looks of the bark about the roots, but I have little faith in these tests, 
for I have seen them fail scores of times with experienced men. 

The only sure test is to bore into the tree as low down as possible with a 
long handled inch and a half or two inch auger. The chips will show whether 
the tree is sound or not at the heart. When purchasing standing timber at a 
high price, this test is important. 

How to Fell a Tree. — After it has been determined which way the tree 
is inclined, see that there is a good open space for the trunk and top to sweep 
down. A tree that lodges causes a great deal of trouble, and where the sweep 
is not clear, other trees are damaged by broken limbs and chafed sides, by its 
dashing down to earth. 

If there is a better opening to the right or left of the direct incline cut the 
kerf so as to throw it in that direction. The kerf on the falling side should be 
cut more than half way through the trunk. To prevent long spHnters from 
drawing out of the heart of a tree, let the middle be cut entirely off, leaving the 
outer edges to be cut away last. 

By care in the use of the ax upon the corners, the direction of falling may be 
varied several feet. This faculty of " swinging a tree," by means of the ax, can 
only be attained by practice. In some very important instances the tree may be 
climbed and a strong rope attached, well up, and a strain brought to bear that 
will swing a tree out of its natural course. 



TIMBER AND ITS MANAGEMENT. 425 

TIMBER AND ITS MANAGEMENT. 



Time for Felling Timber. — As on nearly every other subject, opinions 
differ as regards the best season of the year for chopping down trees, so as to 
leave the timber hard, tough and durable. Some advocate cutting in the month 
of June, while the tree is in full vigor, others give experience in favor of felling 
trees at midwinter, while the sap is inactive. Others still claim that trees 
should be cut in spring, just as the sap begins to flow vigorously. A few also 
advocate that fall is the best time, but my opinion after careful experiment- 
ing, is, that more depends upon kind and quality than season of cutting. I have 
put rails into fences of oak timber from different trees, all cut the same day, and 
while from one they lasted but a few years, from others they kept sound for a 
quarter of a century. 

For elastic timber, such as hickory for bent work upon vehicles, my habit was 
to cut the tree late in summer. The next best time I consider to be midwin- 
ter, while the timber is frozen. The least sap the tree contains the better, as it 
seasons more readily and less fermentation takes place. 

In late summer or fall the wood has ripened, the flow of sap having ceased. 
It IS a noticeable fact that timber cut while the sap surface is soft, the wood is 
very liable to become powder-posted. Hickor)' should not be cut in spring. 

Comparative Firmness of Timber. — Some idea as to the compara- 
tive value of timber for various uses, including fuel, may be gained from the 
following table — the wood of the shagbark hickory taken as a standard and 
rated one hundred : 

Shagbark hickor)-, 100; pignut hickory-, 95; white oak, 84; white ash, ']'] \ 
dogwood, 75; scrub oak, 73; white hazel, 72; apple tree, 70; red oak, 67; 
white beech, 67 ; black birch, 63 ; yellow oak, 60 ; hard maple, 59 ; black wal- 
nut, 65; white elm, 58; red cedar, 56; wild cherry, 55; yellow pine, 54; 
chestnut, 52 ; yellow poplar, 44; butternut and white birch, 43 ; white pine, 30. 
Beech maple will rate higher for fire-wood than the figures given. It should 
be borne in mind that there is a great difference in timber of the same species ; 
some pieces of hickory will not rate over fifty or sixty, and some pieces of oak 
and ash rate nearly, or quite a hundred. The estimate is only an approximate. 

Lime for Preserving Timber. — The improved French method of 
preserving wood by the application of lime is said to be found to work well. The 
plan is to pile the planks in a tank and to put over all a layer of quicklime, 
which is gradually slaked with water. Timber for mines requires about a week 
to be thoroughly impregnated, and other wood more or less time, according to 
its thickness. The wood acquires remarkable consistence and hardness, it is 
stated, on being subjected to this simple process, and the assertion is made that 
it will never rot. 



426 TIMBER AND ITS MANAGEMENT. 

Oettiiigr Out 'Wagoii Spokes. —While getting out timber for various 
purposes, the farmer may work up butts of oak or hickor}- to good advantage 
for wagon spokes, and get more money for the same than in any other way. 
Cut the blocks either two feet or twenty-eight inches long, as these lengths are 
always marketable. 

Split them out, if hickor)-, an inch and a quarter on the heart, and inch and 
three-quarters broad. If of oak for hea\y wagons, cut twenty-eight or thirty- 
one inches long, split out inch and a half on the heart, by two inches and a 
quarter deep. 

Do not use sap wood on oak, but it may be measured on hickory. To split, 
first halve the block, then quarter, split off the heart, then work up to best 
advantage by marking out with a pencil. Always split w^ith broadest part of 
the stick in direction from sap to heart. Cross pile, like laying the fingers of 
one hand over the other, and allow them to season in the shade, but exposed to 
a free circulation of air. 

Oettiiig' Out Carriage Planks. — In sawing carriage timber, there is no 
necessity of squaring the logs ; it not only causes waste in sawing, but also 
creates waste in cutting up. In sawing hickor}- logs, the slabs should be taken, 
off two sides before any planks are cut, and then the plank should be alter- 
nated from each side. If this is not done, some of the planks will be thicker 
in the middle than at the ends. 

Seasonings Carriage Timber. — Gradual seasoning is the best, but to do 
this, the timber must be protected from the sun and rain, and so situated as to 
allow a free circulation of air. It should never rest upon the ground ; the best 
plan is to have the seasoning shed floored, and the planks or timber piled a few 
inches above the floor, so as to allow air to circulate under them. 

Planks should never be allowed to remain undisturbed until they season ; they 
should all be handled over and replied after they have been piled up a few 
months, care being taken to remove the sticks from their first position. It is a 
good plan to turn planks over when repiling. 

When piling at first, make a solid and level platform of four pieces of scant- 
ling, and use sticks between the planks that are of equal thickness, four to each,, 
and directly over the bed pieces. 

Four to six years are required to season timber for wagon work, but the stock 
may be disposed of by the farmer much before that lapse of time, as all good 
workmen keep a stock ahead. 

The planks should be sawed inch and a quarter, inch and a half, inch and 
three quarters, and two inches. Oak, hickor}- and ash are marketable. 

^laturity of Timber. — Each year the heart of a tree becomes harder, 
until it has attained its full growth. The. age of timber may be known by the 
number of concentric rings of fiber ; and whether it has reached maturity, or 
passed its prime, may be judged from the comparative hardness or softness of 



TIMBER AND ITS MANAGEMENT. 42/ 

the center compared with the exterior. In growing wood the heart is hard, 
and softens gradually to the bark ; when wood is in perfection it is hard through- 
out ; and when past its prime the heart is perceptibly softer than the surround- 
ing parts. 

"Working Unseasoned Timber. — A farmer is more liable to work 
unseasoned timber than a practical mechanic, for the reason that his experience 
has not led him to so fully understand the importance of working seasoned 
wood. It is a fact that the durability of most work depends greatly upon the 
seasoning of the timber ; loose joints, dry rot, and many other disadvantages 
arise from unseasoned wood. If you are obliged to use imperfectly seasoned 
timber, do not paint it until all the sap has evaporated. By confining any 
moisture with paint the wood must immediately begin to decay. 

ISeasoning Split and Salved Timber.— Split timber will last 
longer than sawn timber, because the fibers are not divided, and the moisture 
cannot so readily enter the wood. Many carpenters who think only of get- 
ting paid for their work will use unseasoned timber, not only because it is 
cheaper to buy than that which is seasoned, but because it is so much easier to- 
work. Thoroughly dry seasoned wood is considerably tougher and harder than 
wood containing moisture. Choose wood with the straightest grain and that 
freest from knots, and always take care not to have a knot on the edge of your 
work. 

Ho^v to Pile Lumber. — Make a foundation of three pieces of scant- 
ling, the two outside ones as far apart from outside to outside as the lumber is 
long. Make the bed pieces level and in perfect range the whole lengths of 
them, and pile up the lumber with three sticks of equal thickness between the 
boards, keeping them directly over the bed pieces and at the end of the boards,, 
out flush. If the stub-shots are not hewed off, place the sticks against them. 
Cover the top if out of doors. If the lumber is more than twelve feet long, it 
will be better to use four bed pieces and the same number of sticks. 

Summer Lumbering^. — The multitude of saw logs hauled to the mill 
yard in winter makes it impossible for the majority to so locate their logs but 
that another siege is required to get them on to the carriage-way ; but when the 
truck is used in summer the yard has become so cleared that one job finishes 
the work. The earth is also solid, so that no damage is done the fields by the 
heavy loads taken across them. 

Timber Wet and Dry. — Thoroughly seasoned timber constantly kept 
in water will last for a thousand years. Many of the piles of ancient bridges 
have been found to be as sound as the day they were driven. The same may 
be said of timber which is never allowed to be wet. There is framed timber in. 
existence, and in good preservation, that left the carpenter's hands a thousand 
years ago. 

W'arping of Timber.— Often timber of the first quality is of no use, on 



428 TIMBER AND ITS MANAGEMENT. 

account of being sprung or warped. Hickory is more likely to warp than softer 
•wood, and requires more care to preserve it. The difficulty arises from the 
natural tendency of the timber to spring as sawed from the log, and from the 
warping of the boards when exposed to the sun or air without being properly 
piled up, and being left without cover, so that the rain beats in on the planks, 
which causes them to warp with all the weights that may be put on. Much 
lumber is also spoiled by leaving it spread upon the ground at the saw mill for 
a few days in the hot sun. 

Selecting" Timber. — It never pays to use brash or decaying timber in an 
important place. Care should be used in selection. Longfellow wisely says : 

" Choose the timbers with the greatest care ; 
Of all that is unsound beware ; 
For only what is sound and strong 
To this vessel shall belong." 

The age of timber when cut, the mode of seasoning, and even the nature of 
the earth it grew upon, bear considerably upon its strength. Much timber 
is felled at the wrong time of the year, on account of the value of the bark. 

Planting IVuts for Black Walnut Timber. — The planting of nuts 
for raising black walnut timber will not pay, unless the work is done for the far 
off generations to come. On my home farm nuts planted more than thirty 
years ago have not produced trees large enough yet for good sized fence blocks. 
The tree is a slow grower, and unless it is located in a forest near a stream, 
^rows bushy and low. 

Durability of Black Walnut Timber. — Few kinds of wood are 
more lasting than this. I know of buildings, both dwellings and barns, that 
were weather-boarded with it forty years ago, some of which have been painted 
and others not, and in neither case is there any present signs of decay. A 
neighbor bought a farm, and upon it discovered a black walnut tree that had been 
blown down and partially covered with dirt, and an elm tree, a foot through, 
had grown over the log, sending its roots down on each side of it. Some time 
afterward he cut the elm away, and dug the walnut log out, and found it sound 
and good. 

Sapping Timber. — The sap may be removed from non-resinous wood 
by boiling the timber a few hours in water, then by exposing to the influence of 
the atmosphere a few weeks will become seasoned sufficiently for use where 
hair joints are not demanded. Sap is extracted to a great extent also by felling 
the tree when in full vigor and allowing it to lie until the leaves drop off. The 
leaves will not fall of themselves till they have drawn up and exhausted the sap 
in the tree. The time required is from a month to six weeks, according as the 
weather is dry or moist. Trees so treated will never push again or show leaves 
as the stocks of winter-felled timber invariably do if allowed to lie, and thus 
prove that they have lost that vitality which the latter retains. 



MAPLE SUGAR MAKING. 429 

MAPLE SUGAR MAKING. 



How to Make Sap Spile§. — The spiles may be made either of elder 
stalks, or from common soft wood lumber, three-fourths or an inch thick ; the 
former is preferable where a supply can be readily obtained. Bore a hole in a 
hard wood board with the bit to be used for tapping, and whittle the spile sa 
that the end will just enter, giving- a gradual taper back. 

One great defect in making sap spiles is in giving them such shape that they 
may be driven half or three-fourths of an inch into the tree, thus stopping up 
all of the best flowing pores of the wood. Old spiles should be refitted. Cut 
off the ends and whittle them over. 

Sheet iron spiles should be six or eight inches long, two inches wide, rolled a 
little concaving, and ground sharp at one end. 

How to Tap Maple Trees, — People differ as to modes of tapping,, 
some using the bit, others preferring the boxing process. Where the incision is 
not made deep, and frequent freshing over is performed, the boxing process is 
preferable, for the tree receives less injury and a greater flow of sap is obtained^ 
but with not more than once freshing over in the season, the run will be fully as 
great from bit tapping, as the air does not so rapidly dry up the grains of wood 
in the cut. 

The great injury to trees arises from sinking the bit too deep. The outer grains 
of the tree are those which conduct the greatest amount of water, and those 
grains alone will repair a wound ; so if the surface heals, there is a vacuum in- 
side which promotes decay and eventually prostrates the tree. An incisioa 
made with an ax or gouge not more than three-eighths of an inch deep will en- 
tirely heal up. 

When tapping select a healthy spot upon the tree, neither above, below, nor in. 
the immediate vicinity of a scar. 

No tree is so large as to make it advisable to use more than two spiles, and 
many trees that are put to use are too small for even one. The only reason 
that bit tapping is so generally adopted, is because of its convenience, and this 
method requires less " freshing over " than the other. The sap runs longer 
without extra work for man (the destruction to the trees is not, of course, 
taken into consideration), and this method gives satisfaction. 

When the sheet iron spout is "used, the tapping should be done with an inch 
and a quarter auger, and the cut should not be over one- fourth of an inch deep 
in the wood. The spile is driven into the bark of the tree firmly beneath the 
cut. The freshing over should be done with an auger an eighth or a quarter 
larger, and the cut made only one chip deeper. 

If a farmer has not on hand the different sized augers, and does not wish to 
be at the expense of purchasing them, a two inch gouge may be made ta 



43° 



MAPLE SUGAR MAKING. 



answer every purpose. It should be ground thin and very sharp, and the cut 
made with it about two inches long and not over one-half inch deep. 

The gouge may be taken along when gathering sap, and any tree requiring it 
freshed in half a minute's time by taking off a thin shaving. 

There are other advantages in this mode of tapping, aside from the preserva- 
tion of the trees ; more sugar can be made, for a greater flow of sap can be ob- 
tained, and no loss sustained by leakage, as around the common wood spile. 

A neighbor of mine, who has tapped his sugar trees for more than forty years, 
has followed this method. He has always made a wonderful amount of sugar 
per tree, and his maples are now in a vigorous condition. 

Not long since I saw one of his trees cut down, and at the base where the 
tapping had been done the tree was sound, a complete knarl being formed, and 
so tough that it was impossible to split it stove-wood length. I have seen many 
maples tapped with a bit not more than ten or fifteen years, with the whole 
inner wood decayed. 

BucRets for Sap. — I would advise no one to buy wooden pails when tin 
can be had at a reasonable price, for several reasons, among which are the 
lightness of tin, their compactness when stored away, their not drying up and 
falling to pieces, and the ease with which they are kept clean. 

Whatever vessel is used, have it large. Farmers do not generally realize 
Avhat loss they suffer every spring from the overflowing of buckets. We will 
suppose that in one-half of the camp vessels are used which will hold but six 
quarts each, and in the remainder buckets which will hold sixteen quarts each. 
Now, when the gathering has been neglected until the larger buckets are full, 
which will ordinarily occur several times in a sekson, and supposing the trees 
to be equally good, there has been a waste of ten quarts at each of the trees 
having the smaller vessels ; and supposing that number to be two hundred, there 
has been a loss of two thousand quarts, or five hundred gallons of sap, which, 
at a safe calculation, would have made one hundred and twenty-five pounds of 
sugar. 

Methods of Oatliering Sap. — The sled is commonly used for sap 
gathering, but I have found a crotch, or, as farmers call it, " dray," much more 
convenient. See page 381. Put the gathering barrel or barrels on crosswise, 
having a barrier each side, and fasten with a rope or chain. With such an ar- 
rangement short turns can be made, logs passed over, and almost any point 
reached where a horse can go ; and by making an elevation beside the store 
trough, and the use of a small conductor, the barrel may be conveniently 
emptied. 

A watchfulness should be kept over the camp, and the buckets never allowed 
to run over. When there is a prospect that sap will run all nights just at dusk 
go around the bush and empty the fastest running trees into the buckets of 
those that run slower, and at daylight start to gathering ; taking those that are 



MAPLE SUGAR MAKING. 431 

^ull, or nearly so, first. Gather the whole bush at least once each day, even if 
there are but a few buckets full, as sap will soon sour if left in the buckets, and 
they will then have to be scalded before the next run. 

Soft Maple Sap. — The sap of the soft maple is not as rich as that of the 
hard maple, taking from one-fourth to one-third more to make the same amount 
of sugar. But the former flows more freely than the latter, so that the yield of 
sugar is nearly equal to that from an equal number of trees. This involves 
more labor in gathering and boihng ; but, again, the soft maple commences 
its run eariier, so that mapie sugar making from it is out of the way of all prep- 
aration for spring work on the farm, and gives the advantage of an early mar- 
ket, which is an important item, as all sugar makers are aware. 

Care of Sap Pails, — When sap pails are brought from the woods they 
should be dried slowly, and the hoops started up now and then until the buckets 
are perfectly dry, then set away in the storage room, bottoms upward. If not 
entirely sweet when coming from the sugar orchard, they should be cleansed 
before drying. A coat of paint outside and an oiling inside will pay richly. 

Funnel for tlie Sap Barrel. — Bore an inch and a quarter hole length- 
wise through a block of soft wood five inches long, then work this block down 
to fit an inch and three-quarter hole bored in the bottom of a wooden pail. The 
funnel spout will then go into a two inch bung hole of the gathering barrel. Screw 
some saddle pieces on the bucket bottom, so as to make it stand level on the 
barrel. When gathering. sap keep a little clean straw in the funnel, as it will 
effectually prevent leaves and sticks going into the barrel. 

Storage for Sap. — The estimate is that storage for six barrels of sap is 
required for each hundred trees. The trough is perhaps the cheapest device, 
and certainly sap may be put into it with less trouble from the gathering bar- 
rels than into a large cask. Casks, however, answer a very good purpose when 
the sugar house or boiling arch is located on a side hill, so that the sap may 
be run from an elevated point to the storage cask. 

Some farmers have the very commendable method of drawmg, during winter, 
a load of ice to the sugar house, and covering it with saw dust, to preserve it 
till wanted. During the warm, spring days ice may be kept in the sap, and 
there is no danger of its souring, which is one cause of the sugar not graining 
as well toward the close of the season. 

Boiling^ Pan§ vs. Kettles. — Pans are rapidly taking the places of 
kettles for boiling sap ; they are more efficient in the work, and much less fuel is 
required, as the pans have a greater evaporating surface. 

Where kettles are used, arches should be constructed to save wood and keep 
the sap clear. Where an open fire is made there is a continual cloud of scorched 
leaves, soot, etc., dropping into the kettle, and giving to the contents a hue not 
inviting, and one ver}^ difficult to remove by cleansing. 

The pan should be eight or nine inches deep, and large enough to meet the 



4-3- MAPLE SUGAR MAKING. 

requirements of the farmer. The arch should be made with a furnace similar 
to those used under steam engine boilers, and be the same width inside as the 
boilers used, lacking four inches for support. If three boilers are used, set the 
one in the middle two inches higher than the one at the mouth of the arch, and 
the third two inches higher than the second. 

Set the pans or boilers close togetner, and furnish the third with a short tube, 
two inches from the top, that will convey the sap into the second, and arrange 
the second in the same manner to convey the sap into the first. By this arrange- 
ment all of the labor of dipping from one pan or boiler to another is avoided. 

A stream, just enough to keep the sap at the right height, should be kept 
running from store trough into the highest boiler, and regulated by a faucet. 

Sugaring' Off. — After the syrup has been strained through a flannel cloth, 
it should be allowed to stand until it has settled ; then pour off all that appears 
pure, and put over a slow fire in such a manner that the blaze cannot reach up 
the sides of the kettle, for in this way more sugar is spoiled than any other. 
Cleanse by using half a pint of new mill' and one hen's egg to each gallon of 
syrup. If the sap from which the syrup was obtained had soured, put a table- 
spoonful of saleratus into each pint of the cleansing material used. 

If it is noticed while sugaring off that the syrup is scorched, immediately put 
in some cold sap, or if not at hand some water, and stir the whole rapidly until 
it begins to boil. This wall remove much of the bitter flavor. 

To determine when the sugar is done many modes are practiced, but, per- 
haps, the safest test is by use of water or snow. When the sugar is to be caked 
for draining, the wax should harden, but be somewhat elastic ; when for dry 
cake, the wax should be hard, but neither elastic or brittle, and when for stir- 
ring, so that it will break and fly like glass. 

To stir sugar let it stand after it is removed from the fire undisturbed until it 
begins to expand, or rise up, then stir it until cold. 

How to Use the Settlings. — Many persons throw away the skimmings ; 
but these, with the settlings, should be saved, and when you have ten or twelve 
quarts, add to them two or three pails of sap, place them in your sugaring off 
kettle, and just as they come to a boil remove them from the fire and skim thor- 
oughly, strain, add eggs and milk, then skim again as long as any dark colored 
scum rises. These second skimmings pour into a thin cotton cloth strainer 
and hang up to drain. Never press the contents of the strainer ; let them drip ; 
all the sweetness will eventually drain out and leave a hard ball in the strainer. 

Making Maple Molasses. — By no means make settlings into molasses ; 
they are much better made into sugar or vinegar. Molasses should always be 
made from the best material early in the sugar season. 

When the syrup is of the proper consistency, pour it into the cans or jugs 
while hot, and seal at once. It will keep a long time, and retain the rich maple 
flavor. To test the thickness of molasses while cooking, cool a little. 



CHEAP UNDERDRAINS AND DITCHES. 



433 



CHEAP UNDERDRAINS AND DITCHES. 



]\rece§§ity for Land Drains. — There are but very few farms so well 
located but what more or less ditching or draining would better some parts of 
the same, and there are innumerable farms that would be improved in almost 
every part by underdraining. Husbandmen not infrequently feel too poor to 
purchase tiles, and, therefore, allow the necessar}^ work to go undone. 

While the system of tile drainage is a most excellent one, it is not absolutely 
necessary to obtain tiles to do a good, durable job of underdraining ; nor is it 
necessary to make any money outlay, or to go off the farm for material. Some 
of the cheap methods that have proven to be effectual and enduring are given 
in this work. 

How to Hake Brush ]>rain. — Brush drains are condemned by some, 
but probably by those who have never made one, nor do not know how to make 
one properly. A good deal depends upon the soil. In a stiff clay it works better 
than in a loamy soil. 

The bottom of the ditch should be about a foot in width and the brush laid in 
all one way, with the tops down stream. It is best to have it free and of good 
size. Make a depth of brush ten or twelve inches, well packed in, and lay on 
the top a good slab. Put upon the slab some straw, or leaves from the woods, 
to prevent the dirt from working down into the brush. Such a drain will last 
for years. When filling up, round the top well, for the brush will settle more 
or less. 




THRKE LOG DRAIN. 



TWO LOG AND PLANK DRAIN. 



ONE LOG AND PLANK DRAIN. 



Draining with Poles. — There is a method adopted by some which com- 
bines the use of both poles and brush. At one side of the drain bottom is laid 
a pole six inches in diameter, then short sticks, three inches in diameter, are laid 
crosswise, one end resting upon the pole, the other on the bottom of the dram. 
Now long, light poles are laid lengthwise, and brush put on top of all. 

A cheaper and, I believe, just as good a method, is to use two bed pieces, 
and a third pole on top. The ditch should be cut just wide enough so that 
when the two six inch poles touch the sides a space of three inches will be 



434 



CHEAP UNDERDRAINS AND DITCHES. 



left between them. When the third pole is laid on top, a water channel is left 
below. 

A correspondent says, in 1852 he filled a large drain with beech and sugar 
maple poles four or five inches in diameter, with the bark on, one placed on 
each side of the bottom of the drain, with flat stones on top of them. 

In some instances one pole only was laid in the ditch, on one side, and flat 
stones, which had been hauled one and a half miles, were laid with one end on 
the pole and the other end on the ground in the bottom of the ditch. He ex- 
amined some of these poles after they had lain there eighteen years, and al- 
though they were somewhat " dozy," as we usually say when timber is in the first 
stage of decomposition, still he is confident that those drains will be as service- 
able for twenty years to come. 





DITCH AND PLANK DRAIN. 



TRIANGLE BOARD DRAIN. 



SCANTLING TRIANGLE DRAIN. 



Plank and. Board I>rain§. — Board and plank drains are constructed 
after various plans. They are, of course, more, expensive than poles, and do 
not serve a better purpose ; but sometimes poles are not readily attainable. 
One system of board draining is to dig a ditch a foot wide at the bottom, then 
with a narrow spade cut a channel six inches wide and the same number of 
inches deep along the middle of the bottom, and cover this with an oak plank 
or thick slab, belly up, resting on the shoulders of the first bottom, and fill up 
the ditch as for other blind drains. In soft land I have seen the water track 
made by nailing together two narrow boards like an inverted V, and laying this 
upon a bottom board. 

Another plan is to nail the boards together in a V shape ; then put them in a 
ditch sharp side down as the letter stands, and put any coarse, rough stones un- 
der the sides of the trough so as to help sustain them. Cover with boards or 
thin stones. The water from both bottom and top is allowed to escape. By 
making a small channel or indentation for the trough to be bedded in, it will be 
very firm and lasting. 

Still another way is to split scantling beveling, by use of a saw, and by turn- 
ing the left hand piece end for end, and the other side up, you get a V shaped 
drain. The covering may be a piece of slab lengthwise, or bits of slab, or any 
waste bits of board, cut to cover it crosswise. 



CHEAP UNDERDRAINS AND DITCHES. 435 

Draining' Avitli Tiles. — The size of main tile drain depends on the 
amount of water that is required to pass through it ; but it should not be 
larger than necessary. Two inch tiles are generally used for the branches ; but in 
every case the size and number of drains should be sufficient to carr^' off surface 
water thoroughly and rapidly. 

Be sure, in laying tiles, that they are placed without any depressions, where 
the water will be sure to deposit its sediment, and finally fill up the drain. 
Roots of trees or vines, planted near such drains, are also very apt to enter and 
choke them up. They should always be laid deeper than the frost can reach 
during the most severe seasons. Many American farmers err in making their 
drains too shallow. 

In laying all tiles, care must be taken also that the bearing be firm and uniform 
throughout, so that the joints shall not be misplaced and let in dirt to choke the 
water course. If the soil is soft, it maybe well to underlay the tiles with narrow 
oak boards, which will keep them in place some years, and until the earth is 
evenly compacted about them. 

Tlie Plow for Ditching-. — First plow two furrows along the line 
marked out for the drain, and after throwing out the dirt plow again by 
lengthening the chain. After cleaning out the second time, hitch the plow to 
the center of a strong axletree, with low wagon wheels upon it, and attach a 
team each side. The plow will now go down to the desired depth by giving 
length of chain. 

How to Lay Out a Drain. — The drains should always be put in with 
reference to a general system for the whole farm. It is best to survey the ground 
for this purpose, and if you cannot do it, get some one who can. 

Flat, or nearly level land, requires more care in making drains than that 
which is rolling. No farmer can, in this, copy after another, as every farm dif- 
fers in many features from all others. Some require more and deeper drains 
than others, and with some the springs issue from the tops of the hills, and in 
others at the bottom. This depends on the peculiar geological features of the 
country. 

It is always advisable to follow the general slope of the surface. If the field 
to be drained lies at the base of a hill from which water " seeps " out, first lay 
in a large head drain, parallel with the base of the hill, to take up the water and 
prevent it from working down on the field. 

All ditches or underdrains should be laid out as nearly in direct lines as the 
lay of the land will allow, which will help the water to flow off more freely and 
prevent the accumulation of trash, which is apt to clog up the turns or eddies in 
the ditch. But this directness must not be at the expense of the grade, which 
is a matter of first necessity in a water course. 

To Make an Open Ditcli. — In very wet places, where a large volume 
of water is to be carried off from a deep and porous vegetable deposit, an open 



436 ROCKS AND BOWLDERS. 

ditch is the most readily available and much the cheaper method of drainage, 
since a single broad ditch through the lowest portion of the tract, with a few 
wing sluices leading into it from the neighboring pools, will soon take off a ma- 
jority of the dead water and leave the ground in a condition to compact and 
ripen, preparatory to being put under cultivation or for bearing tame grass. 

The main requisites for a good ditch are a grade which will not dam the 
water in any place, and sides cut to such an angle from the perpendicular that 
they will not slough off or cave in, to fill up the ditch and obstruct the flow of 
water. In clay ground the sides will hold if made nearly perpendicular, but in 
softer soils, and particularly in sand or muck, the slant of the sides should be 
considerable — often not less than one-third pitch. 

Protecting Drain Openings. — The mouth of the main drain should 
be shielded by wires. If the head or source of the ditch can be left covered, it 
is better. It may be done by placing something firm at the end of the last tile. 

During summer, while it is dry, mice and larger animals are very likely to 
make abiding places of the drain if allowed to, and sometimes may seek refuge 
there when frightened, and, being unable to turn to get out, die of starvation 
and stop up the drain. 



ROCKS AND BOWLDERS. 



Bursting BoAvlders with Water. — There are various processes of 
blasting large rocks to remove them, but as the employment of powder or other 
explosives is always attended with some danger, it is resorted to as little as pos- 
sible. One method that has been used to advantage in some cases is to drill a 
vertical hole in the mass, fill it partially with water and closely fit into the same 
above the water a steel mandrel. A heavy blow from a sledge or from the 
falling hammer of a pile driver upon the mandrel causes the water to exert a 
sudden lateral pressure which ruptures the rock. 

The great objection to this apparently simple plan is the nicety required in 
properly adjusting the mandrel in the bore, which of necessity requires more 
perfect tools and appliances than are commonly available upon the farm. If it 
is desired to use gunpowder, for manner of doing it see " Blasting Rail Cuts," 
page 403. 

Bursting Bowlders with Lead. — Still another method, requiring less 
skill, is that in which the hole or bore formed at a suitable point in the rock has 
fitted into its lower portion an ingot of lead of corresponding shape and size in 
its transverse section. A mandrel of similar form and of hardened steel is then 
placed in the bore with its upper end projecting out. The mandrel is then sub- 



ROCKS AND BOWLDERS. 437 

jected to repeated blows from a hammer or sledge, each one of which increases 
the lateral expansion, until at last the bowlder is burst open. 

Bursting- Bowlder§ witli Heat. — A cheap and very effectual way to 
remove a rock is to heat it until expansion sends check lines all through, and 
divides it into numerous parts. If the bowlder is bedded in the ground, the dirt 
should be removed about the sides, so that a good portion of the stone is ex- 
posed, then fuel applied plentifully. 

Old rubbish about the premises, such as should be destroyed, v^ill answer to 
make the fire, and thus two objects attained. Some rocks, when heated, will 
flake at first at the top. In such a case, the pieces should be forced off by 
means of a long poker. 

Moving- ISoAvlder§. — Where large rocks are to be moved without sever- 
ing, the stone boat or crotch dray will be found most suitable. Lifting machines 
are too expensive where but little of the work is to be done, and the long lever 
is nearly as good. With a good purchase a man can lift a heavy bowlder from 
its bed and turn it upon the stone boat. Bowlders make excellent corner rests 
for barns, 

Burying Bowlders. — Where there are but few bowlders upon the prem- 
ises they may be buried by digging pits close beside tKe rocks. Be sure and 
get the pit large enough before rolling the rock in. A second trial with one 
rock cannot easily be made. Bury at least a foot below the surface. 

Use for Bowlders. — Where bowlders are not sufficiently numerous to be 
of use for fence or wall making, they may be turned to good service for orna- 
mental purposes. See " Door Yard Rock Work," page 96. Rocks may also 
be used for the construction of duck houses. They may as well be of this 
material as of wood or brick. Of course, the house should be located at an 
appropriate spot ; on the margin of a stream or pond, and near a lawn. 

The rocks may be built up to suit the taste of the one constructing it. The 
inside should be made of brick or stone, cemented, so as to be warm in winter. 
The better way is to construct the brick part first, and then cover the exterior 
with large, medium sized and small bowlders, intermixed so as to give a pleas- 
ing effect. " In the rear there should be an opening to allow of access to the 
cave, and this may be closed by a door of cedar strips. In arranging the rocks 
with a view to the growing of plants, crevices of different sizes must be left, 
and these are to be filled with vegetable mold from the woods, or peaty earth, 
mixed with sufficient sand to keep it always loose, as success in growing plants 
in such crevices depends on havmg the earth they contain in connection with 
the soil below." Small rocks, hard-heads and large bowlders broken into 
fragments make good foundation material for the margins of springs, for paving 
around watering troughs, or in marshy spots where a road is required. The 
same material also may be worked into stone walls, and especially are they 
adapted for stoning wells. 



438 MANAGING FARM STOCK. 

MANAGING FARM STOCK. 



Refractory Animals. — Any farmer is really unfortunate who possesses 
a balky horse, kicking cow, or breachy animal of any kind, and the best way to 
get rid of the evil is to dispose of the beast, even if it is done at something of a 
sacrifice. Refractory cattle should be prepared for the shambles ; refractory 
horses put upon tread powers if balky, and to city use if unruly. There is 
neither peace nor profit in keeping such, and the real aim of life should be to 
make the situation as comfortable as possible. 

Kicking cows are sometimes kept on the plea that they are good milkers, but 
it is not a fit one, for a fatted cow will bring sufficient money in the market to 
purchase a good, kind milker any time, and the perplexity saved is worth the 
price again, annually. I do not speak of this as a looker on, but from my 
own experience as a farmer and dairyman, and I know that the husbandman 
never feels happier concerning his farm regulations than when he determinedly 
resolves that he will not have a balky, kicking or unruly animal upon his 
premises, 

Llg'ht Farin Teams. — Mechanics, in selecting their power, act wiser 
than many farmers, for when they buy an engine, care is taken to get one 
heavy enough to do their business thoroughly ; but too often the farmer buys a 
cheap, light team that is not capable of performing one-half of the necessary 
labor, and the result is, that he gets into the habit — which is indeed a matter of 
necessity — of gauging the depth of his furrow by the strength of his team, and 
as a result he impoverishes his farm and realizes but half crops, and finally 
becomes discouraged and tries some other business. 

Watering Horses in Harness. — Many men abuse horses through 
thoughtlessness, or through inconsideration, and think they are really kind to their 
dumb servants, and it is to such that I have a few suggestions to make. 

In hot weather horses suffer from the want of water, and when working con- 
tinuously, as upon the plow, harrow or mowing machine, should have water 
more than three times a day, as is the common custom. When driving the 
team upon the road it is thought advisable by horsemen to water every hour or 
so, but when in the field, and engaged in heavy work that causes a greater heat 
of the blood and more profuse flow of perspiration, once in five or six hours is 
deemed all that is necessary. 

Now while the farmer is making the thirsty animal, that cannot tell its wants, 
labor on in distress, he is not found neglecting his own physical demands, as 
the frequent visits to the water jug will attest. Time is absolutely gained, for 
more and better work can be performed by taking the team from the field, even 
half a mile to water, at least once in the middle of the forenoon and once in 



MANAGING FARM STOCK. 439 

the afternoon. Where it is necessary to go a long distance from well or stream, 
water should be taken to the field in a barrel. 

Always loosen the check rein before giving water to a horse. If watering 
with a pail, hold it no higher than is necessary to relieve the neck from pressure 
upon the collar. It is not natural for a horse to drink with his head up, any 
more than it is for a man to get down to drink. 

How to ]>reiicli a Horse. — Take a piece of lath about three feet 
long, bore a hole one inch from the end, take a strongs cord, put it through the 
hole and tie the ends together. Now you can put it on the nose as a twist, or 
into the mouth, and push his head right up. I prefer putting the cord into his 
mouth ; then you can drench him without trouble. Never drench through the 
nose ; common sense teaches better than this, for a horse never drinks through 
the nostrils. 

Poke f«>r Breacliy Animals. — When about to make a poke for a cer- 
tain horse, take a flexible stick and measure over the animal's neck for length 
of bow, and then cut the stick accordingly. A green hickory, three or four 
inches in dij meter, spi;t in the middle, worked mto proper shape, makes a good 




POKE FOR BKEACHY ANIMALS. 

bow, as it will bend easily and prove durable. The illustration gives an idea of 
construction. The object of the double pins is to prevent the swingle beating 
the horse's knees. The swingle should be about thirty inches long. When 
attempting to jump the swingle pin catches under a rail and holds the animal 
down. 

Blanketings a Horse. — Where a blanket is kept on in the stable, it 
should be thin and cut so as to fit nicely around the neck and shoulders and be 
well strapped on. The object of stable blanket is not for warmth, but to keep 
the hair of the anim.al in good condition. When the horse is put into the 



440 MANAGING FARM STOCK. 

stable warm, put on the thick outdoor or dress-up blanket until the pulse has 
gone down, then remove this and put on the stable blanket. 

Blankets are more damage than benefit for out of door use, unless used faith- 
fully and put on every time a stop is made after a fast drive or heavy pull in 
cold weather. A horse accustomed to protection will most certainly take cold 
if allowed to get chilly after heaiing the blood. The blanket should be taken to 
the woods in winter, where heavy work is being done, and used there when the 
team is resting, if accustomed to it, as much as when used upon the road. 

Horses sometimes rub off their blankets at night in the stable from the un- 
comfortable feeling of a tight girt. To remedy this either have the girt padded 
or buckle it loose, and fasten the blanket partly under the breast. 

Testing a Horse's Eyes. — In buying a horse particular attention should 
be given to the eye. It should be clear, stand out round and full. The eye- 
brows and lids should be free from bunches, and there should be no swelling 
under the lower lids. I would turn from a horse that has a dull, sunken, flat 
eye. In nine cases out of ten there is trouble connected with it. Either the 
disposition of the horse will be bad, or he will be lazy, or his eyes will fail. 

A good way to test the present condition of sight is to lead a horse out of a 
dark stable into a strong light. If he knits his brow, throws his head up as if 
to get more light, acts if he wanted his glasses to see clearly, you may be sure 
he has bad eyes. 

To Cast a Horse. — A very good way to cast an animal, says one of expe- 
rience, is to pass a rope first around the neck, a noose being formed in the center 
of a strong rope, the ends of which are carried between the fore legs, each re- 
spectively drawn through the ring upon the hobble put upon each hind fetlock 
and afterwards through the rope collar upon each side. The head being se- 
cured, force is applied to one rope in a line with the body, the pullers being 
behind, and the other at right angles or from the side. When the animal falls, 
the ropes must be secured by drawing them into knots at the collar or around 
the fetlock of the hind feet. 

Halter Breaking Young Colts. — Any time after a colt is two weeks 
old, it should be halter broke, so that when the dam is in use, either upon the 
road or farm, it may be kept at her side or secured in the stable. The halter 
may be put on with little trouble in the stable. Have the mother harnessed, 
and hitch the halter strap to the hame ring, not giving more than two feet play 
room ; then lead the dam out, and the colt will be obliged to follow, and will 
soon give up. 

Any young animal will submit to coercion if the force appears to be the will 
of the parent. For this reason I do not approve of halter breaking young 
colts by hauling them about, or being hauled about by them. 

Every person who drives his team upon the highway, the colt to follow at 
will, experiences more trouble by having it follow off other horses, or getting 



MANAGING FARM STOCK. 441 

lost from the dam, than to ten times pay the expense of a halter and halter 
breaking, and besides it is not safe or profitable, when using the mare in hot 
Aveather, to allow the colt to suck at any time it may choose. 

Colts are easily injured by taking heated milk, and do not recover from the 
effects for a year or more — in fact, never get entirely over it, for they become 
reduced in flesh, get lousy, shed their hair, and barely pass through the first year 
of their existence, which is the most critical period of their growth and de- 
velopment. An inferior yearling is not usually chosen to make a good horse. 

How to Bit a Colt,-^A colt breaker says that all you can possibly ac- 
complish with the old fashioned bitting bridle — that is, to teach the horse to hold 
down his head, hold up his head, and to the right and to the left, at the touch of 
the rein — can be accomplished with the bridle described below in forty minutes. 
"' If nature has not designated the horse to have a stylish head and carriage, no 
art of man can alter it ; and the old fashioned way of straining up the neck in 
an unnatural position, and leaving it there for hours, nine times out of ten re- 
sults in a heavy-headed lugger on the bits. 

" Take a cord and fix a loop upon the end, just like one used to go over the 
jaw, only big enough to go oyer the neck and fit down rather tight where the 
collar is worn ; now bring your cord forward, put through the mouth from the 
off side, and bring back on the near side, and put through the loop around the 
neck ; now pull upon this cord, and the head will be drawn back to the breast. 
You are now prepared to bit ; simply pull upon the cord a little, and as he curbs 
liis head well, relieve him ; that teaches him that it is there you want it. 

" When you want to raise his head, lift quickly on the cord, and you lift his 
head finely. You should not bit over five minutes at a time, and then put it 
away, and in forty-five minutes' time, dividing each bitting into five minutes 
each, you can bit your colt well." 

Halter Breakings Youngs Horse§. — A farmer says to halter break a 
colt or young horse get the animal into a stall wide enough to allow him to turn 
freely, but so small that he cannot back more than two feet. Have ready a 
plain headstall, and handle the colt gently, so as not to alarm him. Leave the 
headstall on for a day, and then tie in the hitching strap and pull upon it, first 
one way and then the other. He will soon learn to move his head as you pull. 
Now tie it to the neck, just long enough to allow him to back as far as the stall 
will permit without straining the halter. He will perhaps try to turn round in 
the stall ; but as the pull comes sideways, he will soon give it up. 

" Next, confine him in his stall so that he cannot turn round, but so that he can 
back five or six feet. Then pass the tie rope through a hole in the rack ; put 
upon the end a weight of half a pound. He will back the full length of the 
stall ; but the weight is more than he likes to hold, and he walks forward for 
relief. Now shorten the halter one foot ; he will back and pull gently upon it 
for a moment, but only a moment. 



442 MANAGING FARM STOCK. 

" Now take him into a wide stall, and keeping hold of the halter, accustom 
him to move with and after you, until you have taught him what you wish,, 
when he may be taken out and lead anywhere. Of course, he will be awkward 
and not turn readily for a little while ; but if gentleness and firmness are used, 
there will be no necessity for force. I never had occasion to use it, in handling 
colts in this manner, during six years." 

To Break a Colt to Ride. — Never attempt to break a young horse 
to saddle and harness at the same time. After the colt has been well bitted, 
make yourself familiar by laying the arm over the back and pressing down- 
ward ; then other objects may be placed upon its back, secured, and the colt 
led around. When familiar with this he may be mounted, but care should be 
taken not to permit him to travel faster than a walk until his action has become 
easy and free from nervousness. Even then, for many weeks, he should not be 
allowed to do more than trot gently on level ground, and never be galloped un- 
less on springy turf. Too deep a soil causes a horse to labor, and if frequently 
galloped on such, his action becomes higher and less rapid than it otherwise 
would have been. A more heroic way is given by one who has broken wild colts. 
He claims he can ride the wildest colt in America in two hours by the follow- 
ing process : "Put the colt in a pen, blindfold him ; put the saddle on and 
fasten it tight ; pass a strong cord between the stirrups and tie each end to its 
respective stirrup, so that if the colt jumps sideways the stirrups will not fly 
over his back. Use a common snaffle bit, with double reins ; draw the lower 
reins tight and fasten to the horn or pommel of the saddle, leaving the upper 
ones loose. Now commence driving the colt around the corral ; keep him going 
until he shows signs of exhaustion, the blinder being removed. Have a man 
ready with a saddle horse to take the lead ; blindfold your colt again, gather 
up the loose reins firmly in your hands and mount ; seat yourself firmly, pretty 
well back in the saddle, and draw the blind off. Ten to one the colt follows the 
other horse rapidly, and there is no possibility of the colt's throwing you, unless 
he falls backward. If he is stubborn, and lies down and refuses to go, a new 
plan must be tried. Take a short strap with a buckle and fasten up the fore 
foot, put a one-half inch rope around the other fore foot and let him get up ; go- 
toward him, and if he makes a jump throw him ; after being thrown a few 
times he will learn how to behave himself, and suffer the rider to mount without 
difficulty. A horse with his head curbed cannot kick up ; no horse can un- 
less he can get his head down. The treatment with the rope is equally good ia 
breaking horses to harness, only the ofT foot is not strapped up, and the rope is- 
passed through the large ring in the hame." 

Breakings a Colt to Drive. — The animal should be made perfectly 
familiar with the harness before it is hitched to a vehicle. After no more atten- 
tion is paid to the harness, tie a strap or rope to each tug, and as the colt is 
led or driven by the lines, let a second party with the cords in his hands offer 



MANAGING FARM STOCK. 



443. 



a slight resistance as the animal moves forward ; by such an initiation the 
alarm frequently occasioned by the pressure of the collar against the shoulders. 
is avoided, as the man who holds the cords can instantly relax them if 
necessary. After two or three lessons of this kind, neither trouble nor danger 
need be apprehended in putting the animal to any employment calculated for 
the advancement of his education in the art of drawing. A two wheeled 
vehicle should be used first, if the colt is hitched up singly. This should not. 
be a heavy, noisy affair, but light and still in its action. 

Pokes for Horned Animals. — An improvement upon the common 
poke with the bow block and swingle is made by use of two straight side 
pieces and three cross sticks, as represented in the illustration. The poke 




POKE FOR HORNED ANIMALS. 



should be deep enough to come down nearly to the animal's knees, thus pre- 
venting an unruly cow or steed throwing the swingle over a low fence before 
making the attempt to jump. The poke will not interfere with the animal's 
grazing. The poke is put on and taken off by the top piece being movable, and 
held in place by pins. 

Poke for Sucking Cows. — To prevent self-sucking. Prof. Law says: 
Make six bars of the requisite length, to extend from the head to the shoulder. 
Bore two holes in each, close to the respective ends. Carry a rope through the 
holes at the anterior ends, and another through them at the posterior ends, by^ 
which to tie it around the neck ; have the bars kept at appropriate distances 
from each other by knots on the rope. If properly adjusted, this will put a stop 
to the sucking. 

Another Device. — Take a thin piece of basswood board two and three- 
quarter inches wide, and four and a half long, hollow at one side near the edge, 
so as to form two lobes. The distance between the knobs of the two lobes is- 
about one-fourth of an inch, just enough to permit their being pressed over the 
thick edge of the cartilage of the nose, and close enough to keep it in place. It 



444 MANAGING FARM STOCK. 

hangs down over the cow's nose, and prevents her getting the teat into her 
mouth, but does not hinder feeding. 

Still Another Device. — Take a stiff piece of leather long enough to go 
around a cow's nose at the smallest part between nostrils and eyes ; adjust this 
by strap running over the cow's head back of horns. After it is adjusted, 
drive through the part that comes on top of the nose several wrought nails 
filed to points ; then line with a second band of leather to support the nail 
Jieads, and rivet the two together. 

It is best when measuring for the nose band to put the two pieces of leather 
together, so as not to get the band too tight. An old harness tug, soaked soft, 
ripped open on one side, and the nails inserted from the center, will answer a 
good purpose. While the leather is wet bring the edges together again and 
fasten either by stitches or rivets. 

Timber for an Ox Yoke. — The chief points in selecting timber for a 
yoke are lightness, toughness and strength. Red elm, soft maple, wild cherry 
-and basswood are most commonly used, maple, perhaps, more than any other, 
as it is less liable to spring when hard draught is brought upon it. 

Size of the Ox Yolte. — As much depends upon the general dimensions 
of the yoke as upon its shape. If a yoke is too short, the cattle will soon get 
into the habit of hauhng, which is exceedingly disagreeable. If not of the 
right depth, the yoke will not set square upon the neck, and the result be 
chafing of the skin. To be right, the bows should stand about perpendicular 
when a load is being drawn. 

For an ordinary yoke of oxen, the stick should be about five feet, long, 
ten inches deep, and six inches and a half thick ; for heavy cattle, larger every 
-way 




FIG. I. — TOP SHAPE FOR OX YOKE. FIG. 2. — SIDE SHAPE FOR OX YOKE. 

HoAV to Lay Out aii Ox Yoke. — First square the stick on one side 
and one edge, then find the center, and one foot from this point, each way, bore 
the inside bow holes with a two inch auger. To bore the holes set the stick on 
edge, make a guide line down the side, and be careful to make the hole true. 
Next measure out ten inches from the two holes, and bore again for outside 
bow holes. Now the stick is ready to work into shape. 

Lay out the top as in figure i, having the center and ends five inches wide, 
and work off with gradual curve. To lay out the side, make a gradual curve 
from end of stick to same distance beyond inside bow holes ; /. <?., same as 
from outside hole to end, and work out so that the central spot between the 
bows is three and a half inches thick. After both ends are concaved, carry the 



MANAGING FARM STOCK. 445: 

curve to the center of the stick, as in illustration No. 2. The thickness up 
and down at center of the yoke should be six and a half inches. The concav- 
ing at the top should correspond in its oval shape to the curve below. 

Carry a gentle circle on upper side from between the bows to end, which may 
be left three inches in thickness and nicely rounded off. A very good finish for 
the yoke is a slight rounding of the sides, leaving the top and bottom square or 
flat. Dress out the concave between the bows a trifle rounding, and sandpaper 
until perfectly smooth. The yoke may be painted red, or any other color to 
suit the fancy, or simply oiled. The bows may be bent over a form similar tO' 
one described under head of " How to Bend Timber." 

Ho^v to Break Cattle to Lead. — A cattle breeder says: "Take twO' 
animals of about equal size and strength, and tie them together with a strong 
rope by placing one end around the horns of one animal, and the other end 
around the horns of the other, and make them fast, as for leading or tying up^ 
leaving three or four feet of rope between the inner horns ; turn them into a field 
free from trees. 

" Let them run, pull and haul till they are tired of it, and they will walk side 
by side and feed together. Then take off" the rope, and they will ever after lead 
with the docflity of a child, even though the first occasion may be years after- 
wards. It is much easier than for a man to be jerked all around by a wild 
heifer or steer, and more effectual." 

Cuttings Ice for Cattle. — On many farms cattle during the winter are 
supplied with water by cutting holes in the ice of ponds or creeks, which is a 
very convenient method, but attended with more or less danger if caution is not. 
exercised. After continued cold for a week or two, water is apt to recede be- 
neath the ice from the banks, and the whole surface becomes concaved, en- 
dangering the lives of animals that may venture upon it to drink. 

A creature that has once slipped upon the ice is extremely cautious there- 
after, and will not make another venture unless driven to by thirst. Farmers 
should take the precaution to avert danger by giving the ice a coating of ashes 
or sawdust. Because an animal does not choose to go upon ice to drink is 
no sign that such an animal is not thirsty ; often they suffer through fear, as 
before stated, and cannot thrive under such circumstances. 

ISoiling' Farm Stock. — I do not believe the time has yet arrived when 
soiling stock in this country of cheap land, as a general rule, will pay. There 
may be cases where it may be advisable ; for instance, near large towns where 
land is high and a good market for beef, milk, butter and cheese is afforded. 
The common grasses with rye, corn and oats sown at different dates are good 
soiling crops. I should not tether cows in a yard ; better make cheap stalls 
and have them well ventilated. 

Winter Stabling of Conrs. — As soon as the cows are turned out, re- 
move the excrements and scrape the floor until it is perfectly clean, and leave it 



446 MANAGING FARM STOCK. 

Avithout litter until just before the cows or cattle are to be tied up for the night. 
The floor will dry quicker if left uncovered than otherwise, and then there will 
be no danger of litter being frozen down. 

Where the stable cleaning is not well performed, particles of manure become 
frozen to the floor as solid as stone, and are a constant annoyance until warm 
weather comes. Like the rolling of a snow ball, more and more becomes 
added to the obstructions upon the floor, until the animals have to lie upon a 
rough surface, and double the time spent every morning in trying to clear 
out the impediments that is ordinarily required to do the work of stable clean- 
ing complete. 

Before the stock is returned, give the floor a good coating of cut straw, chaff, 
or something of the kind ; this will prevent the animals from slipping and also 
keep the droppings from coming in direct contact with the floor, so as to 
freeze down. Where manure becomes frozen down, as it will sometimes in 
extreme cold weather, in spite of the precautions used, take an old ax and re- 
move it at once, and apply a double amount of bedding until there is a change 
in the weather. As a rule, never neglect the stables, for the least work is 
required when every morning the labor is performed in the best possible man- 
ner. 

8uiiiiiiering^ S^vine in Pens. — Swine kept in pens during summer 
should have a chance to get at the earth and be provided with a water trough 
of sufficient size to allow the hogs to wallow. Keep the pen sweet and clean, 
as on this depends very much the prosperity of the hogs, although they are gen- 
erally considered filthy animals. Vegetable matter should be given daily ; it is 
a good plan when weeding the garden to throw purslane, pig weeds, etc., into 
the pen. Charcoal and forest leaves, or straw cut fine, make a good deodorant 
and absorbent for the sty. 

Storm Shelters for Stoek in Pastures. — The following very 
humane suggestion was made by Horace Greeley, in his talks of what he knew 
about farming : 

" I think each pasture should have a rude shed or other shelter whereto the 
cattle may resoj-t in case of storm or other inclemency. How much they shrink 
as well as suffer from one cold, pelting rain, few fully realize ; but I am sure 
that 'the merciful man who is merciful to his beast,' finds his humanity a good 
paying investment. 

" I doubt that the rule would fail, even in Texas ; but I am contemplating 
civilized husbandry not the rude conditions of tropical semi-barbarism. If 
only by means of stakes and straw, give cattle a chance to keep dry and warm 
when they must otherwise shiver through a rainy, windy day and night on the 
cold, wet ground, and I am sure they will pay for it." 

Cliair for Holding- Slieep. — A chair, as here represented, can be con- 
structed by any farmer, for holding sheep while tagging or trimming feet. The 



MANAGING FARM STOCK. 447 

chair can be made so as to expand or contract to fit any sized sheep or may be 
made soHd, which will answer every purpose where the sheep are nearly of the 
same grade. But ten feet of lumber is required to make a chair, and no more 
tools than are generally found with an enterprising farmer. 

Take a board ten inches wide and twelve feet long, and cut it into three parts 
four feet long. Shape the sides of two boards as shown in the engraving, then 
saw off the bottom board beveling, and put together again, so as to conform to 
shape of bottom. Put two cleats on the bottom for legs to pass through, and 




CHAIR FOR HOLDING SHEEP. 

use iron braces in front. To make the chair so that it can be extended, nail 
on but one side ; to the other, attach two cleats to extend beneath the chair 
and stay them with right angle irons screwed on. Have the cleats work in 
wooden slots, with a pin through the lower end of slots, and notches in the 
cleats, so as to set on to the pins. To change the side, slip it upward or back- 
Avard, and when free draw it outward as far as desired, and shove it down 
again, so that a new set of notches come upon the pins. 

A sheep is placed in the chair in the best possible position for tagging or trim- 
ming feet, and no outlay of strength or uncomfortable position is required of 
the operator, for all the labor is performed while standing erect, and with no 
sheep to hold. The sheep is in no way confined by any rope or strap fasten- 
ing, but sits in a perfectly easy position. It can be placed in the chair without 
being lifted bodily up, and set upon its feet again without handling or throwing 
at all. 

The sheep chair is an invention of my own, for which 1 hold letters patent, 
but it is given here for the benefit of the purchasers of this work who may 
need it, 

HoAV to Shear a Slieep. — One well experienced submits the following 
as his way of taking the fleece from a sheep : " Place the sheep on that part of 
the floor assigned, resting on its rump and yourself m a posture with one knee 
on the floor and the back of the sheep resting against the left thigh. Grasp 
the shears about half way from the point to the bow, resting the thumb along 
the blade, which affords better command of the points. Commence cutting 
the wool at the brisket, and proceed downward upon the sides of the belly to 
the extremity of the ribs, the sides of both thighs to the edges of the flanks ; 



448 MANAGING FARM STOCK. 

then back to the brisket, and thence upward, shearing the wool from the breast^. 
front and both sides of the neck — but not yet the back of it — and also the poll 
or forepart and top of the head. 

"Now the jacket is opened and its position, as well as that of the shearer^ 
changed by being turned flat upon its side, one knee of the shearer resting on 
the floor and the other gently pressing the forequarter of the animal to prevent 
any struggling. Resume cutting from the flank and rump, and thence onward 
to the head. Thus one side is completed. The sheep is then turned on the 
other side, in doing which great care is requisite to prevent the fleece being" 
torn, and the shearer acts as upon the other side, which finishes. 

"Take the sheep near the door through which it is to pass out, and neatly 
trim the legs, and leave not a solitary lock anywhere as a harbor for ticks. It 
is absolutely necessary to remove from the stand to trim, otherwise the useless 
stuff from the legs becomes intermingled with the fleece wool. In the use of 
the shears let the blades be laid as flat to the skin as possible, not lower the 
points too much nor cut more than one or two inches at a clip, frequently not 
so much, depending on the part and compactness of the wool." 

Killings Ticks in Lambs. — After shearing sheep, ticks leave them on 
account of exposure and go to the lambs, and a good opportunity is afforded 
to destroy them. They may be fumigated as described under head of " Fumi- 
gating Tube," or killed by immersing the lamb in tobacco juice, made by steep- 
ing a pound of plug tobacco to each six gallons of water. Morrell says a half 
hogshead will be the best thing for the deposit of the liquor, upon one side of 
the top of which should be fastened a rack to rest the lambs after the immer- 
sion, in order that the liquor may drain from them. If this is not done much 
of it will be wasted. The lambs must be held by the head with both hands^ 
and then dipped to the ears, using great care that none of the decoction passes 
into the mouth or eyes. Some flock masters feed sulphur to sheep with salt,, 
and claim to drive off the parasites in that way. 

How to I>ock Lambs. — The operation should be performed by two 
persons. One holding the lamb between his knees while sittings the other do- 
ing the cutting. The holder should slip the skin of the tail upward toward the 
body at the time the bone is severed. This will prevent exposure of the bone, 
as the skin will cover the end and heal rapidly. After severing the tail, thor- 
oughly tar the stub. This substance will cement the wound by adhesion to the 
wool, and prevent the depredations of flies. Sharp pruning shears are the best 
instruments for docking ; a chisel and block next best, but if neither of these 
are at hand, use the knife with care. 

Where the lamb is held by the tail, and puUing as that member is severed, 
the result is a protrusion of the bone, and an opportunity afforded for the mag- 
got fly to deposit its eggs. Besides this, an unsightly tail will be the result of 
such barbarous treatment. 



FARM MEASUREMENTS. 449 

FARM MEASUREMENTS. 



Estimating: Bulk Hay. — In estimating hay in the stack or mow, the 
quality should always be taken into consideration. Ordinary meadow hay will 
require, at the top of the mow, about five hundred cubic feet to the ton, and 
the bottom of the mow about four hundred and fifty feet. 

To Estimate Corn and Vegetables. — Multiply the length, breadth 
and depth in feet, and that product by four ; cut off the right hand figure, and 
those at the left express the number of bushels of corn if the ears were shelled. 
Add one-half of this amount, and you will have about the quantity of bushels 
of vegetables in the same space. 

To measure Bulk "Wood. — To measure a pile of wood, multiply the 
length by the width, and that product by the height, which will give the num- 
ber of cubic feet. Divide that product by 128, and the quotient will be the 
number of cords. 

A standard cord of wood, it must be remembered, is four feet thick; that is, the 
wood must be four feet long. Farmers usually go by surface measure, calling a 
pile of stove wood eight feet long and four feet high a cord. Under such cir- 
cumstances thirty-two feet would be the divisor. 

To Measure a Cistern. — First get the area of the circle. This maybe 
done in two ways. Multiply the diameter and half diameter by half of the 
diameter ; this gives the superficial contents of a circle very nearly. For in- 
stance, if the cistern is six feet across multiply that diameter by itself and half 
itself, which is nine, by half its diameter, which is three, and the result is 
twenty-seven. 

Again, three-quarters of the square of the diameter will give the area. Sup- 
pose the diameter of the circle is six feet. Multiply six by six — thirty-six, three- 
fourths of which is twenty-seven, the number of square feet contained in the 
circle. Now to get the number of barrels the cistern will hold, multiply the 
area by the number of feet in depth and divide the product by five. This is 
estimating a barrel to hold thirty-one and a half gallons, which is near enough 
for ordinary purposes. (See page 105.) 

To Measure the Height of a Tree. — When a tiee stands so that 
the length of its shadow can be measured, the height of the tree may be 
readily ascertained as follows : Set a stick upright near the termination of the 
shadow of the tree. Mark the extremity of the shadow of the stick, and what 
the shadow is to the length of the stick so is the length of the tree's shadow to 
the height of the tree. 

Another Metliod. — When a stick of timber is desired, and one is uncer- 
tain whether or not the tree will work the required length, a very close calcula- 
tion can be made by the following simple plan : Say the stick required must 



450 



FARM MEASUREMENTS. 



be fifty feet long, measure fifty feet in a direct line from the foot of the tree on 
as near level ground as possible ; put down a small stake, then measure back 
toward the tree as many feet as the man is tall, and set a stick just the height 
of the observer's head ; then let the observer lie flat on his back, his feet against 
the tall stake and head at small stake in line of tree and high stick, and 
sight dh-ectly over the top of the stick,, and where the line of vision strikes the 




SHOWING HOW TO MEASURE THE HEIGHT OF TREES. 

tree will be fifty feet, or near enough that length for all practical purposes. The 
illustration shows process required. The stake should be the exact height of 
the man, the distance from eyes to top of head to offset distance from eyes to 
back of head when observer is lying down. 

Simple liand Mea§ures. — When it is desired to measure off an acre of 
land in any field, find the number of rods across the field and divide one hun- 
dred and sixty by that, and the result will be the number of rods wide required. 
For instance, if the lot is sixteen rods, wide, the number of rods the other way 
will be ten, as sixteen is contained in one hundred and sixty, ten times. 

The number of square feet in an acre is 43,560. The following table will be 
found convenient and may be depended upon as accurate : 



FARM MEASUREMENTS. 



451 



15 " 


" •' 2904 " 




20 " 


" " 2178 " 




30 " 


" " 1452 " 




40 " 


" " 1089 " 




50 " 


" - 8714 " 




60 " 


" " 726 " 




70 " 


" " 622f " 




80 " 


" " 544i " 




90 " 


" " 488 " 




ICX) " 


'• " 435t% " 




110 " 


". " 396 - 




120 " 


. . 363 . 




130 " 


" " 335r5 " 




140 " 


" " 3iii - 




150 " 


" " 290A " 




160 " 


. . 272I " 




170 " 


" " 256xV " 




180 " 


" " 242 " 




190 " 


" " 2293% " 




200 " 


- " 2171 " 





10 feet wide by 4356 feet long, contains one acre. 

one acre. 

one acre. 

one acre. 

one acre. 

one acre. 

one acre. 

one acre. 

one acre. 

one acre. 

one acre. 

one acre. 

one acre. 

one acre. 

one acre. 

one acre. 

one acre. 

one acre. 

one acre. 

one acre. 

one acre. 

Measuring witli a Pole. — Land may be measured very accurately by 
means of a pole if a strip of tin or a table knife is used at the end to mark dis- 
tances. If stakes are used, the outer surfaces should be exactly even with the 
end of the pole ; if stuck at the end flush, several inches variation will be made. 
A pole sixteen and a half feet long is commonly used, but one eleven feet long 
will be handled with greater ease, counting three lengths of the pole as two 
rods measurement. 

The Reel measure. — A reel for measuring land is made as follows : 
" Take a round piece of board about an inch thick, and saw eight radiating spaces 
into it, shaving the wood between the saw cuts out with a sharp ch'isel, then lay 
in strips half-inch thick, two inches wide and thirty-five inches long, and screw 
them in. Then screw on another round piece of board and the hub will be 
complete. The radiating strips or spokes should be fitted with accuracy, so as to 
be firm and the points at equal distances. Saw offends so each spoke is exactly 
thirty-two and a half inches long from center of hub to end ; then measure 
from point to point, and if all are accurately twenty-four and three-quarter 
inches apart, the measurements of the land will also be correct, eight times 
twenty-four and three-quarter inches being sixteen and a half feet. It is best 
to drive a nail lengthwise into the end of each arm or spoke, then whittle it 
down small, as this will prevent the point from wearing off and becorning ulti- 
mately too short 



452 FARM MEASUREMENTS. 

"A Straight, smooth piece of round rod iron, with a screw and nut on one 
end, is then inserted for an axle, and two strips of board placed on each side 
to receive the ends of the axle. A washer made of sole leather may be placed 
on each side of the wheel and inside the strips of board. These two strips 
have blocks placed between them to keep them at suitable distances apart, and 
a cross bar is passed through the rear end for a handle. 



THE REEL ROD MEASURE. 



" For measuring farms of moderate size, this will be sufficient, with the ad- 
dition of a strip of red cloth on one of the spokes, so that each revolution may- 
be easily counted by the operator as he pushes the machine before him. 

" This machine may be made of pine, which is light and sufficiently stiff, but 
the arms or spokes should be of oak or other hard wood. If they are half an 
inch thick and two inches wide at the hub, tapering to an inch or less at the 
outer end, they will be quite stiff enough. Any ingenious farmer who has a 
workshop will readily make one. 

" The measurements will, of course, be nearest correct on smooth, hard ground. 
On a freshly plowed field they will be attended with considerable inaccuracy, 
and should be made after the field is harrowed and settled. On a smooth sur- 
face there is rarely a variation of half an inch to a rod, and on ordinary farm 
ground or grass, not more than an inch, if well made. It is always advisable 
to prove the work on a piece of measured ground, to see if the spokes are of 
the right length." 

Measuring* Box. — A rule is given which says that a box sixteen by six- 
teen and three-quarters inches square and eight inches deep will contain a 
bushel, and each inch in depth of this box will contain one gallon. Every 
farmer should have such a box. This rule is very nearly correct, as 2, i SOy(^s 
cubic inches make a bushel. A cylinder eighteen and a half inches in diameter 
and eight inches deep makes a bushel also. 



CONSTRUCTION OF FISH PONDS. 453 

CONSTRUCTION OF FISH PONDS. 



To Make a Dam. — Dr. J. H. Slack, who has had not only an extended 
but an expensive experience in the culture of fish, says that in the construction 
of a pond no wood should be used at all. In building a dam, first lay up a line 
of brick extending to within an inch or two of the line of the top of the dam. 
Now pile your dirt on each side of the wall and you can bid defiance to the 
muskrats, which have often in one night destroyed the accumulated fishes of 
years. Do not trust to planks ; the vermin seem rather to enjoy eating their way 
through them. 

Di]iieiision§ of the Wall. — The proportions of the dam should be as 
follows : 

Let the breadth on the top equal the height, and the base be three times the 
height. Thus, if your dam is ten feet high, let the width of the top be ten feet 
and that of the base thirty feet. Face the sluice-way with stone or brick, and 
let it extend to the bottom of the pond. 

Place at the outlet two sets of screens of galvanized iron wire, the uppermost 
being for the purpose of catching the leaves, sticks, etc., which may find their 
way into the pond, the lower to prevent the escape of the fishes. One inch 
mesh for the upper and one-half inch for the lower will be about right. Ar- 
range these so that they can be readily removed and cleaned, and then keep 
them clean. 

Excavated Fisli Pond. — It is useless to attempt to raise fish of desir- 
able species in a pond of dead water, so the site should always be where the 
pond may be constantly fed and drained by a stream of water. At the point on 
the watercourse where it is desirable to have the fish pond, perhaps simply 
damming the stream would not form a pond, but make an unsightly overflow, 
and an excavation is necessary. To dig the pond hole, mark off the sites with 
pegs, then take off the top or surface soil, and remove to some distance beyond 
the line ; then dig out to any depth desired, gradually sloping from the edge to 
the water. 

Any portion of the excavation not retentive should be well filled with puddled 
clay — i. e., clay made of the consistency of putty, and thoroughly worked, by 
means of wooden rammers with rounded ends, not less than twenty inches in 
thickness. 

The soil excavated may be used upon the dam. Make the top as level as 
possible and with well defined edges. Its sightliness may be improved by deck- 
ing the margin with shrubs and flowers, and better still will it look if the 
margin, at least upon the side of approach, is well bestrewn with cobble-head 
stones. If the soil is clay, pound the excavated surface full of coarse pebbles 
and cover again with loose stones and gravel. 



454 



DAIRY UTENSILS. 



DAIRY UTENSILS. 




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Improvised Cheese Press. — Where but few cheeses are made, it is not 
absolutely necessary to buy a cheese press. A very good long lever press may 
be constructed by simply using a twelve foot scantling as 
a lever, one end passing beneath a cleat upon the wall of 
the room. A good, firm platform should be used for 
the hoop, and blocks of different thicknesses provided 
to make proper adjustment of the lever during the process 
of pressing. As the follower settles, the lever will pitch 
or incline, then a block should be placed beneath the 
cleat to bring the lever to a horizontal position again. 
Add weights gradually as the pressing proceeds. 

Raek for Milk Pans. — Where the milk room 
is small a great economy of space may be made by 
setting a post six inches square, and nailing cross cleats 
made of strips an inch and a half wide and half an 
inch thick. Allow the strips to extend each side, beyond 
the post, sufficiently to hold a milk pan. The cleats 
should be about eight inches apart. By reference to the 
engraving, a good idea of construction will be obtained. 
Another advantage besides that of economy of space is 
in the free circulation of air around and beneath the pans. 
ReneAviiig' Pail Bails. — The bails of milk and slop 
pails about the dairy not infrequently lose the ears of 
the bail by breakage, and the pail has to be carried be- 
tween the two hands, because the owner has no sheet or hoop iron to repair 
with. Leather for pail ears answers a good purpose. Take a strip of har- 
ness or boot leather one inch wide and three inches long, punch a bail hole 
with a round instrument through near the top, and tack it on with small 
nails, or fasten with small screws. If the leather is good, a pair of ears will 
last a year or more. Pieces of old boot tops answer well. 

Small nails or long tacks may be annealed so as to clinch by simply heating 
them red hot and dropping them into cold water. Where hoop iron is at hand, 
a more sightly bail ear may be made. Cut the iron out with a cold chisel and 
file the edges smooth, then punch by heating. 

Sealdingr Milk Vessels. — The plan of scalding milk pails, pans, etc., 
before they have been perfectly cleaned, is often the cause of having tainted 
milk. The creamy deposits made along the seams of the vessels coming in 
contact with boiling water, is cooked and made doubly adhesive, and after a 




RACK FOR MILK PANS. 



DAIRY UTENSILS. 455 

time putrefies, and a very little of this substance will contaminate gallons of 
milk. The spongy bottom of a wooden milk pail will retain oily globules as 
well as seams in tin vessels. 

To Purify Dairy Utensils. — A practical farmer says that the best 
method for cleaning vessels used in the dairy is to stand on end in a convenient 
place for use, an open ended vessel of suitable dimensions for the size of the 
dairy, say from half a barrel to a hogshead. In this slake some good quicklime, 
enough to make a thin whitewash when full of water, and cover to keep out 
dust and dirt. The lime will settle, leaving a saturated solution of lime over it, 
as clear as spring water. 

After using the milk pans, etc., wash them as other utensils are washed and 
rinsed ; then dip them in the adjoining cask of lime water, giving them a quick 
turn, so that every part becomes immersed therein ; set them to drain and dry, 
and the purification is complete, without any scalding process, from the new 
pan to the old worn out one. 

The lime in the clear water instantly neutralizes the acidity of the milk yet 
remaining in the cracks or seams, etc., of the milk vessels, to destroy which the 
process of scalding has been performed. In the case of a very small dair}^ or 
of one cow, the clear water may, if preferred, be dipped out for the time being 
and poured gently back again, the lime purifying the water and keeping it good 
all summer. 

Of course there will be a little waste and evaporation, which will be made up 
by adding clean water as needed, the lime settled in the bottom of the cask 
keeping up the strength of the saturated solution. 

Painting Milk Pails. — For painting pails inside Spanish whiting should 
be used instead of white lead, for the latter is poisonous. If for barn use, noth- 
ing is better than yellow ocher. This is harmless and durable. It will stand 
hot water better than any other suitable material. 

Shellac for Milk Pails. — Unpainted wooden pails may receive two or 
three good coats of gum shellac varnish, dissolved in alcohol, well laid on both 
inside and outside. This will last a year or more before the wood will begin 
to soak water. It is much better than lead paint for the inside of pails. Lead 
is poison, and soon peels off in freezing weather, and then the pails soak water 
and get very heavy to lift ; besides they rot fast and leak through the pores of 
the wood. Shellac can be procured of any painter or at any paint store ready 
mixed, and, if corked tightly, will keep any length of time. 

To Keep Milk Vessels from Drying Up. — Pails saturated with 
glycerine will not shrink and dry up, the hoops will not fall off, and there will 
be no necessity for keeping these articles soaked. Butter tubs keep fresh and 
sweet by use of it, and can be used a second time. 

Pail Holding Milking Stool. — In my dairy I never adopted a pail 
holding stool, although I tried several styles. If a cow is at all inclined to be 



456 MAKING AND KEEPING CIDER. 

uneasy, I prefer to have the pail between the knees, where it can be managed 
any instant. There are dairymen, however, who do hke the holders. One of 
these writes : " I make my milking stool of a board or plank two and a half 
feet long and eight inches wide, with two legs in one end, and one in the other. 
The end with one leg is put under the cow, to set the pail upon to keep it out 
of the mud or dung and bring it nearer the cow's bag, while you sit upon the 
other end. This is a great improvement upon the common short stools, and 
though a small matter, is of considerable importance in a dairy." 

Another recommends a stool very similar. Take a piece of board about eight 
inches wide and two feet long ; nail short pieces across the ends to increase its 
strength and to bore holes through ; put two legs in one end eight or ten inches 
long, and one in the other or forward end a trifle shorter. Place the stool 
where you want to sit, the end with one leg in where you usually set the pail. 

Place the pail on one end of the stool and sit on the other ; there you have 
your pail out of the dirt, and the cow cannot easily put her foot in it, as is so 
often the case when the pail is on the ground. If the legs prove too long, saw 
them off a little. Some cows are so low that you are obliged to set the pail on 
the ground ; in such case you turn your stool around. 

Anottier Style. — Another farmer recommends the use of hoop iron inch 
and a quarter wide for making the holder. " At about ten inches from one end 
make a notch in one edge with a cold chisel. Place the shoulder of the notch 
on the front side of the bail ear of the pail, and hold it there with one hand 
while the other bends the iron around the bottom of the pail at such a point 
that it will not move either way ; then carry it up to the opposite bail ear and 
make another notch, leaving an end ten inches long, as on other side. Now 
take a separate piece of iron, two inches long, and make a hole m one end with 
a punch before cutting it, in the right shape for a hook, with a chisel. 

" When made, place the hook part on the opposite side of the bail ear, bring 
the eye down on the main iron and make a hole to rivet them. Care should be 
taken in making the hole, that the hook will hook on and remain there while 
used. Lastly, bend the tops to half circles, to rest on the person's legs.' 



MAKING AND KEEPING CIDER. 



Apples for Cider, — There is just as much difference in the quality of 
cider as m molasses, wine, beer, or any other hquid material made for family 
use ; but not one-half the attention is given to making a good article that there 
should be. It is too generally the custom to gather all the refuse of the orchard 
and grind up rot' and worms, and call the juice obtained good cider, but it 
comes far short of it. 



MAKING AND KEEPING CIDER. 457 

The apples should be clean and ripe when picked, and of good variety. 
Crabbed sour apples will make cider of the same nature. Apples are better to 
be stored awhile in a bin or large pile before grinding. Rotten apples should be 
rejircted, and also leaves, sticks and all other foreign substances. Where ap- 
ples are knocked off with a pole bits of twigs are very likely to be intermingled, 
and these will impart a bitter taste to the cider. Many rotten apples will im- 
part a flat or musty taste. 

Managing tlie Pomace. — The introduction of little portable cider mills 
has been a damage to the quality of the cider — not absolutely of necessity, but 
because the cider maker was tempted to press off his pomace as fast as it came 
from the mill. Cider making, like cheese making, is not entirely a mechanical 
process, but partakes largely of the chemical ; there is a nicety of chemical ripen- 
ing in the pomace of the cider maker, as well as in the curds of the cheese maker. 

Whatever mill is used for grinding the apples, to secure a good cider the 
pomace should not be pressed out under six hours after grinding ; by keeping 
the whole together in this way the free juice acts upon the more fixed aroma of 
the pulp, seeds and skin, so that when it is pressed out it takes the soul of the 
fruit — so to speak — along with it ; whereas, if pressed as soon as ground the 
juice is thin, watery and destitute of aroma, and that peculiar fruity body which 
makes good cider such a luxury. 

Ho^v to Keep Cider. — There are all sorts of recipes offered for keep- 
ing cider sweet, but nearly every one of the preservers kill the life of the liquid 
and make a sub-acid drink that is neither palatable nor healthy. Mustard seed 
is more popular than any other substance for keeping cider, and is, probably, 
when used properly, as good as anything, but I prefer no drugging. 

Pure cider kept in a cool place will remain sweet for a long time if not ex- 
posed to the air. Cider becomes sour by exposure to the atmosphere, there- 
fore as long as a barrel is kept full and bunged up tight it will keep good, but 
as soon as a few quarts are drawn off the vacuum is filled with air, and acid is 
generated, which will increase each day thereafter until vinegar is formed. 

Oil is recommended to prevent action of air upon the vacuum surface. As 
soon as a few gallons have been drawn out, pour into the bung hole about half 
a pint of clear sperm oil, or sweet oil if it is preferred. It should be warm 
when poured in, and it will spread in a thin coat over the surface, and keep 
spreading as the cider is drawn out, and thus exclude the air, without giving 
any taste of oil to the cider. 

Second Method, — Another way practiced by some, and a very good one, 
is to store the barrels in the cellar, take out the bungs so the fermentation v/ill 
work over, and keep the casks filled so the fermented pomace will all go over 
and not settle in the bottom to hasten a second fermentation and give you a pre- 
mature hard cider. For a nice beverage, as soon as the vinous or first fermen- 
tation ceases, rack off the liquid into clean casks. Fill full and bung up tightly. 



45^ MAKING AND KEEPING CIDER. 

Tllird, metliod. — Take your cider when two days old, run it off through 
a filter box into a perfectly clean barrel , let it stand twenty-four hours after 
bunging up ; then repeat the same process again, and if it should show any 
signs of fermentation the following day run it through your filter again, until 
you are satisfied beyond a doubt that your cider is free from pomace or sedi- 
ment, and I will guarantee you as good cider as ever was tasted. I have par- 
taken cider five years old, as pure as anything could be in a liquor state, pre- 
served in this manner. Be sure and have your barrel clean. 

Fourth Method. — Place the kettles of cider over a fire and bring them 
just to a boil, but do not let them boil. Skim it ; fill the barrels to within an 
inch and a quarter of the bung ; then bung them so tight that the air will be 
entirely kept out. Cider put up in accordance with the above directions will 
keep till the ist of June, it is said, as nice as when first opened. 

Fifth Method. — Let the new cider from sound and ripe apples go through 
the process of fermentation from a few days to three weeks, according as the 
weather is warm or cool. When it has attained to a lively fermentation, add to 
each gallon one-quarter of an ounce of sulphite of lime. In mixing fill a bucket 
partly full with the cider, and then add the sulphite of lime, and stir until inti- 
mately mixed ; then pour this, which will be of a milk-like consistency, into the 
cask of fermenting cider. Agitate briskly and thoroughly for a few moments, and 
then let the cider settle ; when (which will be after a few days) the cider has be- 
come clear, draw off and bottle carefully, or return again to the cask after the 
sediment has been removed. If loosely corked or kept in barrel on draught, 
it will retain its taste as a still cider. 

If preserved in bottles, carefully corked, which is better, it will become a 
sparkling cider, and may be kept a great length of time. 

A common sized barrel will require about half a pound of the sulphite of 
lime. Be particular and buy of your druggist sulphite of lime, not sulphate. 

^ixth Method. — As soon as convenient after the cider is made, and at no 
time later than twenty-four hours thereafter, put in each barrel of cider one-half 
pound of ground mustard and one pound of horseradish, well pounded. Crushed 
raisins and whisky are also used after racking off the cider. 

The Casks for Cider. — The cider once pressed out, should be stored 
in casks absolutely clean and free from taint of mustiness. Musty casks, if to 
be used at all, should have something more than a rinsing of cold water. Let 
them be thoroughly soaked and scalded, and then fumigated with brimstone. It 
is poor economy to put good cider in foul casks to be spoiled. 

Canning' Cider. — A correspondent claims that cider if taken when first 
made, brought to boiling heat, and canned, precisely as fruit is canned, will keep 
from year to year without any change of taste. Canned up in this way in the fall 
it may be kept a half a dozen years or longer as good as when first made. 

It is better that the cider be settled and poured off from the dregs, and when. 



MAKING AND KEEPING CIDER. 459, 

brought to boiling heat, the scum that gathers on the surface taken off ; but the 
only precaution necessary to the preservation of the cider is the sealing of it up 
air tight when boiling hot. 

HoAV to Bottle Cider. — The first run of the cider from the press is the 
best. Let the cider work a day or two, the casks being full, so that the pomace 
may pass off" at the bung hole. Then take an empty cask, clean and sweet, put 
into it ten gallons of the cider, thrust into the cask through the bung hole an 
ignited rag sulphur match, suspended by a wire from the bung, to which it is to- 
be attached ; and after this another, and so on, till three or four matches have 
been consumed. Then shake the cask violently, until the fumes of the sulphur- 
are completely incorporated with the cider. 

Pour the cider thus prepared into the cask in which you propose to keep it for 
the winter. Repeat the same process until your cask is full. Bung the cask 
tight, and let it remain in the cellar till March, and then draw the cider off and 
bottle it. Place the bottles upon the bottom of the cellar and cover with sand^ 
Some place the bottles bottom up in a trench or betwixt two bits of joists, as in 
this way the corks will remain secure without twine or wire. 

Boiling- Cider to Preserve It. — The cider is boiled and skimmed,, 
then put while hot into a tight cask or barrel, and sealed as in canning fruit ;. 
before sealing suspend about half way in the barrel or cask, by a string from 
the bung hole, a small bag about the size of a hen's egg containing mustard 
seed ground fine. 

Cider for Iniinediate Use.— In cold weather cider for immediate use 
will keep best by leaving the barrel out of doors, adding nothing to the liquid. 
It ferments very slowly when chilled, and a most excellent beverage can be en- 
joyed by drawing from the barrel as wanted. Plug the air hole each time after 
drawing. 

Coloring- Cider. — To give the cider a rich color, blood beets are some- 
times ground up with the fruit, and then crushed horseradish root added as the 
cider is barreled. 

To Pwrify Cider Barrels. — New barrels are best for cider unless the 
old are thoroughly cleansed. A very good way to purify a cask is to put into 
it from four quarts to a peck, according to size, of powdered charcoal, a coffee- 
cup of saleratus, then fill the barrel full of boiling water ; cover and let it re- 
main until the water is cold, then rinse thoroughly. For preparing new cider 
barrels, see page 120. 

Faucet for Cider Barrels. — There is no economy in using wooden 
taps in cider barrels, as they are liable to break or get loose and cause leakage^ 
A good, metallic screw faucet costs but a trifle, and may be operated even in 
the dark with safety. Before fiUing the barrels, fit the faucet to each, put in 
taps until the cider is to be drawn, then set the barrel on end, and put in the 
faucet. 



460 PORK PACKING. 

PORK PACKING. 



Barrel for Storing- Pork. — In the preservation of pork very much 
depends upon the barrel. If this is not perfectly sweet the meat will almost 
certainly spoil. Do not use a cask that has been employed for any other pur- 
pose, and if meat has ever spoiled in a barrel set it aside for barn use and get a 
new one for pork. Some claim that a barrel in which meat has spoiled may be 
cleansed, but do not take the cleansed barrel, for loss may attend the experi- 
ment, which will be several times over the cost of a new cask for storage. For 
shape of a pork barrel, see page 121. 

Packing- and Salting Pork. — I have obtained from several old and 
reliable farmers their modus opera?idz for packing and salting pork. One says : 
*' In whatever vessel you pack, put first a layer of rock salt an inch or more in 
depth. Then put in a layer of pork, packing it as tightly as possible. Fill all 
the crevices with salt, and put in next a layer of salt two inches in depth. Then 
another layer of pork, and so on, covering the last layer with three inches of 
salt. Let it stand twenty-four hours and then pour on sufficient cold water to 
•cover the pork well. Place a weight in the barrel to keep loose pieces down 
under the brine. 

" Keep the brine strong by occasionally adding more salt. If at any time it 
does not seem perfectly sweet, pour it off for the asparagus bed and put on 
fresh water and more salt. I never scald brine and always use rock salt." 

Second Method. — " When all animal heat is gone, cut your side meat 
into pieces of from four to six pounds each, of a uniform width ; cover the bot- 
tom of the barrel from one-half to an inch thick with good salt ; pack a 
layer of pieces, sitting them edgewise around the barrel, from staves to center, 
and as closely as you can crowd them ; fill all the cracks and crevices with salt, 
then cover the whole layer one-fourth or one-half inch thick, then place and 
cover another layer as before, and so on, until your pork is all in, or the barrel 
iilled. 

" Make a strong brine, using good, clean water, soft preferable, and as much 
salt as the water will dissolve, scald thoroughly and skim ; wife says add one- 
half pound saltpeter — she always insists upon that , when brine has cooled, pour 
on to the pork enough to cover it well. A barrel properly packed takes about 
three buckets of brine, but if this does not cover, add cold water and keep the 
meat always weighted down and under brine. 

" Salt is inclined to settle to the bottom ; watch it during the year, occasion- 
ally throw in two or three handfuls of salt ; no fear of getting too much. 
Follow directions and I warrant good, sweet pork as long as it lasts." 

Third Method. — " Cut your side meat in strips about four inches wide, 
cover the bottom of your barrel with good coarse salt, then pack in edgewise a 



PORK PACKING. 401 

layer of pork as close as you can get it, then a layer of salt, and so on, until 
your cask is full, using about twenty pounds of salt (Turk's Island is the best) 
for every one hundred pounds of meat ; then cover with brine as strong as salt 
will make it, being careful to see that it is always under the brine." 

Fourth Hetliod. — The directions of the fourth pork packer are to "let 
the meat become perfectly cold before packing ; put a good layer of coarse 
rock salt in the bottom of the barrel, then pack closely a layer of pork ; cover 
this with another layer of your rock salt, and so proceed. When your barrel is 
about full put on a weight sufficient to hold the meat in place, and fill up with 
pure cold water until the pork is well covered, and the work is done. 

" There should be so much salt that you can always find it in an undissolved, 
state in the barrel among the meat. If this is the case, and the meat is kept 
covered with brine, it will keep as sweet as possible and never want scalding." 

Fiftli Method. — " To a half bushel of good ordinary salt I add one- 
fourth of niter, pulverized and mixed well. When the animal heat is all 
out of your pork, and before it hardens, pack it down thus : First have a clean 
barrel well hooped, and a piece of board nailed inside the chine across the 
head below to keep the latter from bursting out. Set it under a beam in your 
cellar, give a coat of salt on the bottom of the barrel, then a layer of pork, 
then of salt, and so on, filling the side spaces as the barrel fills with pieces of 
pork cut to suit, and pressing every second layer gently with a maul so as to 
render it compact. 

" When your pork is all in, the spaces should be closely filled with salt and 
left. Then fit a lid on the pork, on this a strong cross block, and cut a piece of 
scantling to reach from top of block to beam of cellar, and fit it in and wedge 
with an ax as tight as you can well drive, tightening up twice a week until the 
brine forms and runs over the pork, and it is done. In using, arrange so as to 
have the brine cover the pork. I use no water ; it is that which makes the pork 
rancid." 

ISlxth Method. — " The animal heat out, cut off the hams, cut the ribs 
loose from the backbone, remove the lard and ribs, take a small strip from the 
thin part. I also take a strip along the back so as to include the lean on both 
sides of the backbone, which goes for lard and sausage. Now commence next 
to the shoulder to cut in strips about four inches wide ; now you have it in suit- 
able shape for packing and for the women folks to handle. 

" Sprinkle about one-half inch of salt on the bottom of the barrel, set each 
piece on edge, skin next to the barrel ; pack close, pound down even all round. 
Put another layer of salt and meat till done ; salt on top, pour on strong brine 
until it rises over the meat ; always keep the meat under brine. The great 
secret in keeping meat is salt and neatness." 

The uniform methods of packing meat, given in the foregoing contributions, 
make it quite evident that the ground is well covered. My own experience for 



462 PORK PACKING. 

several years verifies the statements that abundance of good salt should be 
used. 

Old Meat and Old Brine. — " If you have any old pork left over re- 
move and pour the brine into something clean, and pack the new pork the 
same as above, with plenty of salt, and put in the old pork on top, and add the 
brine without scalding, and if it does not cover the meat add water sufficient to 
make it. Thus the old brine can be used year after year, and grows better 
every year. 

" I have a barrel of brine that has been used for seven years, and it keeps 
the meat perfectly sweet and has never been skimmed or scalded. I never al- 
low the meat to freeze before or after packing, but keep it in a cool, dry cellar." 

Wliere to Keep Pork.. — The pork barrel should be kept in a cool 
place. If the cellar is warm keep it up stairs ; if that is warm also, keep it in 
the store room or granary. Extremely cold weather will have no effect upon it, 
but a warm atmosphere may. ^ 

To Cure Hams. — To every one hundred pounds take eight pounds of salt, 
four ounces of saltpeter, one and a half pounds of sugar, four gallons of water. 
The hams may be taken out after four weeks. To keep the meat after warm 
weather the pickle will have to be boiled. By using half the quantity of salt- 
peter the brine may be used for beef to be dried. 

Second Formula. — " One pound of saltpeter, dried and finely powdered, 
one peck of Liverpool salt, one pound of brown sugar and one quart of molasses. 
Mix all in a vessel, rub the meat well with same, and pack with skin down. 
This amount is required for five hundred pounds of meat. After being in salt 
three to four weeks, take out, wash the pieces clean, dry them, and hang for 
smoking. Three weeks is sufficient to cure them thoroughly — by fire of hickory 
wood. When smoked take down and bag, or pack away in dry chaff or cut 
straw. Examine occasionally, and if found at all damp, renew the packing 
with dry material." 

Third Formula. — " Pack your hams in a barrel, not too close, make a 
sufficient pickle to cover them. Seven pounds of salt, three ounces of salt- 
peter, six red peppers, to four gallons of water. Scald and skim ; when cold 
pour on the hams ; let them lie six weeks, then take them out and rinse them 
in cold water, hang them up, let them drain one day, smoke them with green 
hickory or sugar maple chips. In cold weather make a smoke twice a day, and 
in moderate weather once a day. I have tried this recipe for a number of years 
and know it to be good." 

Fourtli Formula. — " The meat, after being cut out, must be rubbed 
piece by piece with very finely powdered saltpeter on the flesh side and where 
the leg is cut off, a tablespoonful, not heaped, to each ham, a dessertspoonful to 
each shoulder, and about half that quantity to each middling and jowl ; this 
must be rubbed in. 



PORK PACKING. 463 

" Then salt it by packing a thin coating of salt on the flesh side of each 
piece, say one-half an inch thick ; pack the pieces on a scaffolding, or on a floor 
with strips of plank laid a few inches apart all over it, that is under the meat ; 
the pieces must be placed skin side down in the following order : First layer, 
hams ; second, shoulders ; third, jowls ; fourth, middlings. Take the spare 
ribs out of the middlings. The meat must lie in this six weeks if the weather 
is mild, eight if cold." 

Fifth Formula.— " Half a bushel of fine salt, three pounds of brown 
sugar, two and one-half pounds saltpeter, one-half gallon best molasses. Mix 
these ingredients together, then rub each piece well with the mixture before 
wetting for pickle. The meat must be taken out of the pickle once a week for 
six weeks ; the two first times the meat is taken out there is to be a plate of 
alum salt added to the pickle." 

HoAV to Keep Cured Hams. — " I have tried various ways, and there 
are several that will keep hams sweet and sound not only through the year, but 
for two years. I have packed them in clean casks, first thoroughly sprinkling 
each ham with hickor}^ wood ashes. No insect ever disturbed them. I have 
put them in strong muslin bags, sewed them up and hung them to spikes in the 
attic, well ventilated, and they kept well. 

" I have left them in the smoke house, as dark as Erebus, locked the door 
and kept the key, and never knew an insect to trouble them, and they were 
always in fine condition. I have also put them in bags as before, imbedded in 
sweet cut hay, and they came out whenever wanted in the very best condition. 
In all cases they should be hung up in a dry, cool place." 

Preserving Meat "Without Brine. — A farmer says : "I take a hog 
weighing, say two hundred pounds, cut it down each side of the backbone, first 
removing the leaf lard and tenderloins and all parts containing blood ; then cut 
the legs off close to the ham, and lay the whole side on a board prepared for 
the purpose, and rub thoroughly all parts except the skin with fine Liverpool 
salt, then place the other side on the one already salted and treat in the 
same manner. I keep up this process of turning and salting for three or four 
days, always rubbing salt on the bare places. 

" In three or four weeks the sides may be hung up in a dry room and require 
no further attention. The salting must be done within twelve hours after the 
animal is killed, before decomposition begins. The fine salt answers ever)^ 
purpose, and preserves the flavor of the meat so well that in six months after by 
placing a piece of it in a pot of cold water, and just allowing it to boil, then bake, 
it has nearly as fine a flavor as a piece of fresh baked pork. Two small sacks 
of salt are sufficient for two hundred pounds of meat." 

The finest ham I ever tasted was cured by rubbing all sides daily with hot 
salt for two or three weeks and smoking with corn cobs. Buckskin gloves 
were used for rubbing with. For smoke houses and smoking, see page 344. 



464 STORING VEGETABLES. 

STORING VEGETABLES. 



How to Keep Sweet Potatoes. — Select potatoes from medium to 
the largest size ; the smaller ones generally dry up so as to be worthless 
in the spring. The next thing is to store them properly. Take old flour bar- 
rels or shoe boxes, or almost any vessel that is not so tight as not to admit the 
air. A tight barrel or box is unsafe and old salt barrels are ruinous, the salt 
every time rotting the potatoes. 

Fill the barrel or box carefully, shaking them dov^n, then cover the top with 
well dried sawdust, or dust from the road, or dry sand ; or the soil they were 
raised in, well dried, will make a good covering. Then store them away in a 
room not subject to sudden changes. Be careful in storing, however, not to 
cover so close as to leave no opportunity for the sweat from the potatoes to pass 
off, for sweet potatoes are like other things ; they will pass through a sweat, and 
if there is no chance for the moisture to pass off, they must rot. 

The room must be kept warm by fire ; you might as well throw them away 
at once, as to attempt to keep them in a cold climate without fire. The proper 
temperature is about fifty degrees by our common thermometers ; though 
where you have a stove in your room the temperature may be raised to seventy 
or eighty degrees without injury, as the air is much easier warmed than the 
potatoes. In the spring, be not in too great haste to unpack and remove them. 

Instances have been known where they have been kept for two years, being 
stored in a warm, dry cellar, near the furnace. Keep them away from all mois- 
ture. Unlike Irish potatoes, which need a cold situation to keep well, the sweet 
potatoes need to be kept warm and dry. 

The time for keeping sweet potatoes in a warm room generally expires about 
the middle of April, but they can be kept and be good up to the first of Octo- 
ber, when the new crop takes the place of the old one, by a proper treatment, 
viz.: About the third week of April, unless cold weather continues, remove the 
barrels of potatoes from the warm room to a cool, dry room on the north side 
of the house. 

AnotSier Method. — In summer, gather old forest leaves, and after thor- 
oughly drying, then put them in a dry room until the sweet potatoes are dug. " To 
pack the vegetables, cover the bottom of the barrel with leaves one inch deep ; 
then lay in the potatoes on the top of the leaves, packing them closely together ; 
then put in more leaves on top of them — enough to cover them — and lay in more 
potatoes, and cover with leaves ; continue layers of potatoes, and cover with 
leaves until the barrel is filled. After they are packed, the barrels may be 
placed in rotation of tiers about the room in which they are to be kept. 

" The barrels may be set on top of each (or over each other) by laying pieces 
across the top of the barrels six inches high, and laying boards on top of pieces 



STORING VEGETABLES. 465 

to set the barrels on. The space between the barrels will make it convenient 
for taking out the potatoes as needed, and will give ventilation to each barrel, as 
the potatoes must be uncovered at the top of the barrel for the heated air to 
escape. They must not be closed at the top of the barrel, or they will rot. 

" Immediately have a fire made in the room where the potatoes are to be 
kept, and the stove should set in the middle of the floor of the room, or near it 
as possible. The room should not be exposed to too much light — have it dark- 
ened with curtains at the windows, but it would be preferable not to keep them 
in a room that has windows on the north and west sides of the room. 

" The general temperature of the room should be from seventy-five to 
eighty degrees for at least ten days after being packed, so as to keep them 
warm during the usual sweating process ; for, should the room be cool 
(though not feel chilly), they will become damp, even wet ; and being left in this 
chilled and wet state they will not keep, hence they must be kept in a room 
that can be heated with a fire from a stove. 

" During the time of sweating the room must have air — have a window raised 
in the daytime ; the curtain at the window should be rolled up, as it is not so 
important to keep the room darkened during the time of the usual sweating 
process ; but after they are out of danger by sweating, it is best then to keep the 
room dark. After ten days expire (the time allowed for the usual sweating 
process, and in the temperature mentioned), it becomes important to keep them 
at uniform temperature, and they will not bear a lower degree than forty with- 
out injury." 

Tliird Method. — A process is given by a farmer, which, if reliable, as he 
claims, it is much more economical than the first two processes given, provided 
one has the material required : 

"Just put the sweet potatoes in a barrel when you dig them and mix dry 
earth among them. Lay the barrels on high ground, and cover them deeply 
with wheat chaff and let it rain on them all winter. No matter how cold or hot 
the weather, your potatoes will be sound in the spring. I have kept sweet po- 
tatoes in this way for fifteen years and always found them sound, unless the rats 
got into them." 

JStoring Irisli Potatoes. — Potatoes are usually handled when being re- 
moved from the field to the cellar as though they were of no value whatever. 
They are shoveled into the cart and out again, then dumped by a slide-way into 
the bin ; the skins broken, the flesh bruised, and the farmer wonders why his 
potatoes are not of good flavor, and why they do not keep well. 

They should be handled with as much care as apples ; the skins are given to 
protect the mealy part from the action of the atmosphere, and if broken, a chem- 
ical change takes place, which greatly deteriorates the original rich, fine flavor. 

{Storing Celery for Winter Use. — To store celery, I prefer what is 
known as the Henderson method, which, in substance, is as follows : " On a 



466 STORING VEGETABLES. 

dry day, about the last of November, select a place not far from the house, and 
the driest part of the ground ; dig a trench eight or nine inches wide, and as 
deep as the celery is tall, cutting the sides smooth and nearly perpendicular, 
and throwing the loose earth a foot or more out of the way on each side. 

" Now dig away the earth from the sides of the row of celery and take up the 
plants carefully, so as not to break the stalks, leaving as much of the earth on 
the roots as will readily adhere ; carry them to the trench, and commencing at 
one end, set them in uprightly, close together, putting in no earth excepting 
barely to cover the roots, and observing that the tops of the leaves should not 
be over two inches higher than the sides of the trench. In this way continue 
till all is stored away. 

" Now the aim is to exclude wet and frost and keep the plants damp and in 
the dark — but for a few days, at least, some ventilation is necessary , so we first 
cover the trench rather lightly with dry leaves, which are plenty at this season, 
and over these a couple of boards nailed together at their sides, so as to form a 
roof to shed off rain or melted snow. 

" After a week or two, take off the board covering and pile on leaves or straw 
about a foot in height, well pressed on, but not so as to crush the tops of the 
celery ; and on the sides place some of the loose earth that came out ot the 
trench, beating it smoothly with the shovel so as to carry off the wet, then place 
the board covering again on top. 

" By making an opening at the end of the trench and keeping a bundle of 
straw therein, the celery will be easily accessible when wanted, and if the sup- 
ply is sufficient, will keep- good till spring." 

Anotlier Metliod. — Remove the celery to high and dry ground, dig a 
straight trench spade deep, stand up a row of plants singly, then three inches 
of soil, then another row, and so on until about a half dozen rows are finished, 
when commence another bed, and so on. 

The soil should be packed in firmly and banked up, so that the tops of the 
celery are just covered, then spank off roof-fashion to turn the rain. Over this 
two wide boards, nailed together, should be placed, as a security against mois- 
ture, or straw can be bent over and secured at the bottom with bean poles. 
Another plan is to sink barrels into the earth, so that the tops are two or three 
inches below the surface, then stand them compactly full of celery, without any 
soil. Put tight covers upon them, so as to exclude all moisture, and then a 
couple of inches of soil. 

Storing Celery for Pre§eiit Use. — You can put enough celery into 
the cellar for about a month's use. For this purpose, take a box or two about 
eighteen inches in depth — barrels answer as well — put a couple of inches of fine 
earth in the bottom and wet it till it forms a mud ; then, on a dry day, dig up 
some of the best celery plants carefully, so as not to break the stalks and leav- 
ing some of the dirt on the roots, set them upright in the boxes or bar- 



MUSHROOM CULTURE. 467 

rels as closely as possible, with the roots on the mud, but taking care not to 
wet the leaves or stalks. Then cover the top with an old cloth or sack, to ex- 
clude the light and prevent evaporation, but allow a little ventilation. Keep in 
a cool cellar, where it will not freeze, and it will be good for use for a month or 
longer. 

storing Cabbages for Winter. — Set the cabbages in rows upon the 
ground heads down and two or three abreast, no difference how long, and 
smooth the leaves, and crowd them in at the bottom ; now cover with soil on 
each side of the row from four to six inches thick, according to the climate and 
the consequent severity of the winters. 

If you have some quite loose or unripe cabbages, dig a trench as deep as the 
root-stalks are long ; in this trench set your cabbage roots in the soil, and 
cover up to the heads or leaves, thus making all level with the surface, the heads 
alone above ground ; now commence and fold the leaves over the small head 
or center and cover with soil deep enough to prevent freezing. If this is well 
done the cabbage will grow all winter and come out nice, well blanched and 
tender, and will grace the table and sharpen the appetite from February till 
May. 

Storing Cabbage in Barrels. — A plan that recommends itself on the 
score of convenience, is to pack cabbage heads, stripped of all their green 
leaves, in barrels filled in with moist chopped straw, provided they are pro- 
tected from the inroads of rats and mice in the cellar, and guarded against 
excess of moisture. In this way they are ready of access as the companion 
dish of salt pork, and need not depreciate with decay more than a barrel of 
winter apples. Care must be taken to select the hardest and soundest heads 
at the outset, and to remove them from their place of stowage before they have 
had time to sprout. 

Storing Turnips and Beets. — Turnips and beets should usually be 
kept by burying in the garden. If put in the cellar they should be well 
covered with damp soil and not more than five bushels in a place or pile. If 
buried in the garden, put from ten to twenty bushels in a pile and cover so as 
to protect from frost. 



MUSHROOM CULTURE. 



Where to Orow Huslirooins. — It is not a difficult matter to grow 
mushrooms, and by a little painstaking they may be kept in good supply at all 
seasons of the year. They may be raised in a cellar in winter, in a shed in 
fall or spring, and in the open ground in summer. In the last mentioned season 
they may be produced with the least trouble ; all that is necessary being to 
place the spawn in the virgin soil of fence corners. 



468 MUSHROOM CULTURE. 

To Make a Mu§lirooiii Bed. — Take freshly dropped horse manure 
unmixed with straw, and mix with it about one-fourth its bulk good loam from 
just beneath sod, and turn the compost and mix it up occasionally for two 
weeks. It is best to have it beneath a shed to keep it from the rain. About 
six wheelbarrow loads of this compost will be required to make a bed. After 
the manure is about half dried throughout it may be formed mto a bed. Spread 
it six inches thick on the place where the bed is to be within a frame, and beat 
it down solid. Add six inches more, beat solid again, and so on until the bed 
is made. (It should be three to four feet in the winter, and one or two m the 
summer.) It should then be left to ferment. In a day or two it will reach a 
temperature of over one hundred degrees, gradually cooling down afterward. 
It should be watched until, by application of a thermometer, the temperature 
is found to be from 86 to 90 degrees, then it is ready for the spawn. 

To Produce Minshrooin Spawn. — The following is given as the 
most economical and certain way of producing mushroom spawn. You can 
procure the seed to start with from any wholesale seedsman at a trifling expense. 
You can also procure it artificially, but the surest way is to get a little of the 
spawn, if not more than half of a brick to begin with, after which it can be in- 
creased to any extent in the following manner : collect equal quantities of horse 
and cow manure containing no litter, straw, or other foreign material. If you do 
not want a very large quantity, a good full wheelbarrow load of each will be 
sufficient. Put these materials under a shed, add an equal quantity — that is, one 
load of fine old leaf mold, and if you can get sheep droppings, add the same 
quantity of this, but it is not essential to success. Now break all up fine and 
pass through a coarse sieve, adding water sufficient to make the whole mass 
about the consistency of thick mortar. Spread it out in a layer about five or 
six inches thick, and press it down firmly. 

" As soon as ^t thickens or dries enough to hold together when handled, cut 
up into blocks the size of an ordinary brick, and in the center of each insert a 
small piece of the spawn which you have previously procured, stopping the hole 
made by the same material of which the bricks are made. Put the bricks upon 
edge, and in such a manner that the air can pass readily among them. 

" The bricks need to be turned occasionally and kept in a very dry place 
until wanted for use. There is no danger of keeping them too dry. The spawn 
inserted will spread rapidly through every portion of these bricks, and each will 
become thoroughly impregnated the same as the one originally purchased." 

To Plant Mushroom Impawn. — To plant, the spawn should be broken 
into pieces the size of hens' eggs, and then placed three or four inches beneath 
the surface eight to twelve inches apart and covered up smooth and level. The 
bed must now be left for two weeks, by which time the spawn will have spread 
throughout the bed. Then, but not before, two inches of fine loam should be 
evenly scattered over the bed, and pressed down firmly with the back of the 



MANAGEMENT OF HEMP. 469 

spade, but not packed hard. Straw should then be placed over the bed loosely, 
and if the surface becomes dry, a gentle sprinkling of water should be given, 
heated to 100°. In the course of time, the interval depending on circumstances, 
the crop will appear and may be gathered for daily use. It is essential to keep 
up a temperature about 60° after planting the spawn, but light is unnecessary ; 
in fact, darkness is preferable to light. It will be noticed that the mushroom 
of spontaneous growth comes up and develops chiefly in the night. 

Indoor Mushroom Culture. — An open shed or a barn may be used 
for growing the fungus, the bed formed in boxes, or they may be produced in 
the cellar by making tight boxes or cutting barrels m half so as to form tubs, 
or old washtubs will do. Prepare the compost as for open culture and pack in 
boxes or tubs instead of beds. A good supply may thus be procured for winter 



MANAGEMENT OF HEMP. 



Harvesting Hemp. — The crop is usually gathered late in the summer. 
Its maturity maybe determined by the leaves of the plant turning yellowish, 
but it is not a crop that demands early attention. It may stand until fully ripe, 
or be cut before showing very much of the yellow hue. " The plants are 
gathered by two modes, viz. : pulling them up by the roots, or cutting them off 
about two inches above the surface of the ground — the closer to the ground the 
better. Cutting is generally preferred, which is performed with a knife (often 
made out of an old scythe) or with a good reaping machine. 

" Whether pulled or cut, the plants are to be carefully and evenly laid on the 
ground to cure, which in dry weather will take two or three days ; a light rain 
falling on them while lying down is rather beneficial, as it will then be 
€asier to remove the leaves, which should be done before the shocks are formed. 
When cured, the plants should be tied in small bundles, for convenience in hand- 
ling and set up in shocks, the roots or butt ends resting on the ground, and the 
tops united or tied by a band made of the plants. As soon as convenient the 
shocks may be collected together and formed into stacks, and by remaining in 
the stacks a sufficient time before being exposed to be rotted, the plants go 
through a sweat which very much improves the appearance and quality of the 
fiber." 

Dew Rotting Hemp. — " For dew rotting, the plants should be spread 
out some time between the middle of October and the middle of December. 
Winter rotting is preferable to autumn rotting, as it gives the fiber a lighter 
and better color. The plants may be spread on the same field where they 
grew, but on grass is better. The length of time they should remain exposed 



470 MANAGEMENT OF HEMP. 

depends upon the degree of moisture, and the temperature of atmosphere ; 
when wet and warm, five or six weeks may be long enough. 

" If the weather is w^arm, it should be spread at night, and heaped together 
in the morning, before the sun's rays have much power. In wet weather, it 
may be left on the ground during the whole day ; and should the nights be 
very dry, it is better to water it. 

" To ascertain if it is sufficiently rotted, take a handful, dry it, and break 
it by hand or on the brake ; if the fiber can be easily separated from the stalk, 
it is rotted enough. If the plants remain on the ground too long, the fibers 
lose some of their strength, though a few days longer than necessary, in cold 
weather, will not do any injury. Snow rotting bleaches the fiber, improves the 
quality, and makes it nearly as valuable as if water rotted, provided the plants 
remain spread out long enough." 

"Water Hotting- Hemp. — " For water rotting, the bundles are to be 
placed in a shallow pool or tank of soft, clear, running water, crossing each 
other, and pressed down by some heavy substance to prevent their rising to 
the surface, special care being taken that they are not so loaded as to be pressed 
down to the bottom. If the weather be warm, four or five days will generally 
be sufficient ; if not, let them remain two or three days more, until the stem is 
so much softened that the outside coat will come off easily ; care must be taken 
that the rotting does not proceed so far as to injure the fibers. 

" The plants should then be taken out of the water and spread singly and 
regularly on the grass. When the hemp is thus spread out, it should be care- 
fully turned two or three times a week, and lie on the ground from four to six 
weeks, when, by the influence of the rains and dews, the woody part of the stem 
will be decomposed and rendered brittle. 

" Another, and probably the best method, is to take the plants from the 
shocks and immerse them in water twenty-four hours; then withdraw the water, 
and let the hemp remain in bulk until the generation of natural heat takes place, 
which will be in the course of about fifteen hours. After the plants are thor- 
oughly heated, inundate or immerse them a second time, and let them remain 
until you are prepared to remove and dry them. This last method is recom- 
mended as producing an article which is bright, soft and lustrous, and remark- 
able for its weight and oily appearance, and is worthy of a trial. 

" Among the English producers, rotting is regarded as taking place much 
more rapidly in stagnant pools than in running water or extensive lakes, in warm 
weather, than the reverse. The time requisite varies from five to fifteen days, 
even in stagnant water. The water in which hemp has been rotted, has a dis- 
agreeable odor and taste, proving fatal to fishes." 

Pit Rotting Hemp. — " Another method of rotting hemp is by placing it 
in a pit, and covering it over with one foot of earth, after having watered it 
abundantly a single time ; but even this method requires double the time of 



PREPARING POULTRY FOR MARKET. 47 1 

water. After being rotted and rapidly dried, it is ready for breaking, beat- 
ing, etc. 

" These processes vary considerably, however, in different places, and the gen- 
eral operation may be said to be one of no little nicety and hazard. Thus it 
vv^ill be influenced by the strength and vigor of the plant, the moisture or dry- 
ness of the season, the temperature of the air during the process, as w^ell as the 
soil from which the plant was produced. If the operation is carried too far, not 
only the woody matter, but the fibers also, will be destroyed or injured — 
and if not far enough, it has generally been thought that the article will not 
dress ; and thus, after a good crop has been produced, it may be much injured, 
if not spoiled, in the incipient stage of its manufacture." 

Bundling Rotted Hemp. — When the plants are rotted, they are to be 
dried and again tied in bundles and put under cover ; they are then ready for 
breaking, which process, when performed by the hand brake, is the most labori- 
ous work in the preparation of hemp. 

Yield of Hemp per Acre. — " The quantity of net hemp to the acre is 
from seven hundred to one thousand pounds, varying according to the fertility 
and preparation of the soil and the state of the season. The quantity which 
any field may produce may be estimated from the average height of the plants 
throughout the field — thus, if the plants average eight feet in height, the acre 
will yield eight hundred pounds of hemp, each foot in height corresponding to 
one hundred pounds of fiber." 



PREPARING POULTRY FOR MARKET. 



How to Kill and Pluek. — Discontinue feeding the fowls long enough 
before killing to have the crops become empty. If killed while full, the flesh 
about the crop will take on a bluish color that will damage the bird some- 
what for market, as it will be less attractive. To kill take a very sharp, small 
bladed knife, hang up the turkey or chicken by the legs to a rope, fixed for the 
purpose, and as it opens its mouth, thrust in the knife and make a deep cut 
across the throat. After the blood has stopped running in a stream, place the 
point of the knife in the groove in the upper part of the mouth, run the blade 
up into the back part of the head, whic^i will cause a quivering and twitching 
of the muscles ; now is your time to pluck, for every feather yields as if by 
magic, and there is no danger of tearing the most tender chick it is said, and 
before it attempts to flap you can have it as bare as the day it came out of 
the egg. Pull out the feathers as rapidly as possible, yet carefully, so as not to 
tear the skin, taking only a few in your hand at once. If for home use cut off 
the heads and " pull" as soon as the fowl is dressed. Male birds may be dry 



472 PREPARING POULTRY FOR MARKET. 

picked, with the feathers on around the head and the tip of the wings, also the 
tail feathers left in ; the small or pin feathers should be all removed, 

Scalding' FoavIs to Pluck. — A New York City poultry dealer suggests 
that for scalding poultry, the water be as near the point of boiling as possible 
without actually boiling ; the fowl held by the legs, should be immersed and 
lifted up and down two or three times ; the motion helps the hot water to pene- 
trate the plumage and take proper effect upon the skin ; continue to hold the 
fowl by the legs with one hand while plucking the feathers with the other, with- 
out a moment's delay after taking out. 

If skilfully handled in this way, the feathers and pins may all be removed 
without breaking the skin. A broken skin injures the sale. The intestines 
should not be " drawn." If you prefer to take the heads off, the skin 
should be drawn over the neck-bone and tied. It should next be "plumped " 
by being dipped into water nearly or quite boiling hot, and then at once into 
cold water. Some think the hot water sufficient without the cold. It should 
be entirely cold before being packed. If one or two in the lot should acciden- 
tally get bruised or have the skin broken, sell or use at home, as they would 
hurt the sale of the whole lot. 

Markings Poultry Soxes. — " The box should have the initials of the 
consignor, the number and variety of the contents, as well as the name of the 
consignee marked on it. The necessity for marking the number and variety of 
contents is, that in case the box is broken open and any portion of the contents 
taken out before delivery to the consignee, they will be enabled to make a cor- 
rect bill for the missing poultry. 

" Another advantage is, that the consignee knows by a glance at the box 
whether it contains the desired variety he wishes ; if not, he need not open it, 
and the contents will not receive a needless handling ; for some parties prefer a 
mixed box, while others do not, and all dealers prefer selling the entire con- 
tents of the box to one person, as it avoids error in weighing and keeping 
accounts." 

Packing Poultry in Barrels. — When to be sent to market allow all 
of the animal heat to pass off before packing, but do not allow them to freeze. 
See that the surface is dry and clean. Apple and flour barrels, perfectly new, 
are considered by many as best to use, as the express charges will be less than 
if a box betaken which holds the same quantity ; besides, a new barrel is always 
salable. 

Rye straw is freest from dust, and therefore best for packing ; put some in 
the bottom of the barrel, laying it on its side. Press the wings close to the 
body of the fowls and pack in circles round the barrel, alternating body and 
legs ; put straw between each layer. When nearly full, lift up the barrel and 
shake down the contents. Pack as tightly as possible and as clean. 

It is a good plan, says one dealer, to wrap brown paper around each fowl, 



MANAGEMENT OF EGGS. 473 

"and thus keep it from contact with either barrel or straw. CleanHness is very 
essential if you desire to receive the highest market price for your poultr}^ ; and 
the appearance of the fowls count as much, if not more, than the quality, al- 
though both are very desirable. 

Packing" Poultry in Boxes. — Place a layer of clean straw at the bot- 
tom ; then alternate layers of poultry and straw ; stow snugly back upward, legs 
under the body. Pack the boxes so as to prevent shifting or shucking. 
They ought not to contain over one hundred and fifty to two hundred pounds 
and if possible never put two kinds in a box. Mark on each box cover its 
contents, and the gross weight. 



MANAGEMENT OF EGGS. 



How to Keep £g'i^$ Fresli. — The great secret in keeping eggs con- 
sists in entirely excluding the air from the interior. The lining next to the shell 
is, when in its natural state, impervious to air, and the albumen is calculated to 
sustain it, but dampness and heat will cause decay, and, if the egg is allowed to 
lie in one position, especially upon one side, the yolk sinks through the albumen 
and settles upon the lining, and, not possessing proper qualities for preserving 
this skin in a healthy condition, it dries and air penetrates and begins the work 
of destruction. 

Where eggs are set upon their small ends the yolk is much less liable to reach 
the lining of the shell. Where eggs are packed in a barrel, keg or bucket, it is 
a good plan to turn the whole quantity on to a different side once in a while. 

Egg Oreasing Process. — I have a way of keeping eggs which, after 
testing very many different modes, I consider best, and that is simply to grease 
them over thoroughly and keep them cool. They have been kept in this way 
for many months and never found to change in the least. 

I do not approve of the use of lime and ashes, for, in the first place, they 
have both proven to be failures, so far as very long keeping is concerned ; and 
secondly, they injure the appearance of the exterior so as to make the eggs 
really unfit for market. 

The liquid process is better, which is keeping the eggs in lime water well 
salted ; but with this method, if an egg chances to be cracked or very porous, 
it will soon be spoiled ; and, again, they very soon spoil after being taken from 
the liquid, if the weather or room is warm. 

When eggs are greased, be very particular to have the coating over the en- 
tire surface, for if it is not, preservation will not be made perfect, and it is here 
that many have failed who do not approve of the greasing process. Another 



474 MANAGEMENT OF EGGS. 

thing of importance is to keep the eggs in a moderate and uniform temperature 
of atmosphere. It is better to have them dry and warm than damp and cold, 
but no state of atmosphere so soon destroys them as one warm and damp. I 
have never found any kind of coating, such as varnishes, so good as fresh lard. 

Keeping Eggs in Oats. — Put on the bottom a layer of oats and set the 
eggs all point downward, so that not one touches the other, until the layer is 
full, then cover with oats and make another layer, and so on, until the box is 
full, and then cover and set in a cool, dry place where it does not freeze. Use 
small boxes, so that you can use first the eggs which are put down first. There 
is no danger of any musty taste to the eggs if you keep them in a dry place 
and are careful to use dry oats. Dry sawdust will answer as well as oats. In 
fact, any fine, dry material. If the substance in which the eggs are packed 
contains moisture, and the box is kept in a warm place, you can depend upon, 
having a lot of spoiled eggs. 

Keeping Eggs in ^alt. — As to keeping eggs in salt, there are very 
many who like the plan, and I have always found salt a good preserver, but at 
the same time a hardener of the yolk and albumen of the egg. Let any house- 
wife who has kept eggs for several weeks in salt compare the interiors of them 
with fresh ones, or those kept the same length of time coated with grease, and 
she will see the difference, and by cooking one of each a decided difference will 
be noticed in the flavor. For this reason of hardening, I do not approve of the 
use of salt. 

The effect of salt is somewhat similar to the process of dipping eggs in boil- 
ing water thirty seconds ; the heat coagulates the surface of the albumen or 
white and protects the other parts. Salt does not act in this way exactly, but 
when the eggs are wanted for use, a difficulty will be found alike in both cases 
when attempting to beat them into a froth for cake making, frosting, etc. 

Process of Drying Eggs. — There is a process of drying eggs which is 
done by beating them into a uniform consistency, and then spreading the mass 
on a polished iron plate and drying rapidly in currents of hot air. The dried 
substance is packed and sealed, and when required for use can be dissolved 
in cold water and beaten up like fresh eggs ; but this process I do not deem 
practical for general use, but may answer well where long journeys are to be 
taken, for in this way they can be preserved for years and carried without risk. 

The Russian Process of Egg Keeping. — The mode of keeping 
eggs in Russia is to pack them in crocks small end down, and pour melted tal- 
low over them ; for transportation this process may do, but is not necessary for 
home use. The French rub eggs with fresh butter until the pores are all filled, 
which answers about the same purpose as coating with lard. 

Bottling Eggs. — It is claimed that eggs will keep all summer if broken 
and put into large mouth bottles, the bottles being at once corked and sealed. 
They should be kept in a cool place, necks downward. 



MANAGEMENT OF EGGS. 475 

Salt and I^ime Proce§s for Egg Keeping. — " Take eggs that you 
know to be good, and place them in a firkin — first sprinkle two inches depth of 
salt all over the bottom of it. Put in the eggs the small end downward, so that 
the yolk will float in the middle of the white, and not cling to the side of the 
egg and spoil it. Fill up the firkin with eggs and lay a board over them or a 
plate, to prevent them from floating when the brine is poured in. Then slake 
three pints of lime in six gallons of water, and add to it two and a half pints of 
coarse salt, stirring it up thoroughly. Let it stand overnight to settle, and 
pour the clear water carefully over the eggs. 

" The eggs must be kept entirely under brine — for if allowed to float upward 
they will spoil. A brine thus prepared will keep eggs for a year at least, but 
care must be taken not to let one of them break in the brine and spoil it ; if 
this occurs, turn it out and make a new brine for them." 

Another Formula. — To four gallons of boiling water add half a peck of 
new lime, stirring it some little time. When cold, remove any hard lumps by a 
coarse sieve ; add ten ounces of salt and three ounces of cream of tartar, and 
mix the whole thoroughly. The mixture is then to stand for a fortnight before 
using. The eggs are to be packed as closely as possible and to be closely cov- 
ered up. 

Oum Arabic for Eggs. — Apply with a brush a solution of gum arabic 
to the shells, or immerse the eggs therein ; let them dry, and afterward pack 
them in dry charcoal dust. This prevents their being affected by any altera- 
tions of temperature. 

Alum and Eime for Eggs. — Some preserve eggs by use of a compound 
of alum and lime in equal proportions, dissolved in hot water, in which the eggs 
are dropped, and allowed to remain for ten seconds. A cement is formed on 
the shell, producing an air tight surface. 

To Test Eggs for Table. — It is quite easy to know a good from a bad 
egg by simply holding it between the eye and a light. Hold the egg so that 
the hand will cut off all direct rays of light except those passing through the- 
translucent egg. 

To Test Eggs for Hatching. — " xA.fter the hen has been sitting severt 
or eight days, it is easy by a careful examination of the eggs to see if they con- 
tain chickens. This is best s^on at night. Take a lighted candle or other 
bright hght to the fowl house, and a basket with a little straw to receive the 
eggs. Put the hand gently under the hen and take out an egg or two. 

" Shade the eye from the candle with the left hand, making a ring by bring- 
ing the thumb and forefinger together. Hold each egg against this ring so as 
to allow the light to shine through the center of the egg. Those eggs that have 
chickens will appear perfectly dark, except a clear space at the larger end. 
Those that are clear, and look as if they were filled with melted wax througk 
which the light can shine, are useless and should be thrown away. 



476 MANAGEMENT OF EGGS. 

" When the eggs are examined the good ones should be immediately replaced 
under the hen. Now the advantage of setting two hens on the same day is, 
that if many of the eggs are clear, the whole batch can be given to one hen 
and a fresh lot to the other." 

Artificial lueiibatioii. — Thousands of eggs are now hatched every month 
b)y means of artificial incubation. The heat required is a little above loo". 
Eggs can be hatched at a temperature of ioi\ and the heat may be raised to 
io6°, which is the limit. If below the first named the desired effect will not be 
produced, and if above the latter they will be spoiled by excessive heat. 

The whole arrangement should be such as to imitate nature as nearly as 
possible. A cheap incubator is made by use of a rubber bag filled with warm 
water, the same resting upon the nest and kept at one temperature by means of 
a lamp. Once in twenty-four hours the eggs should cool for twenty minutes 
and be turned. 

Hatching has been managed by the eggs being placed in boxes just deep 
enough for them to lie, and the elastic substance touching them all, and it has 
-also been done by having a spring bottom to the boxes which would press 
the eggs up gently to the heat above, or by leaving the eggs in a rack, water 
passing above them in a metallic chamber and passing in open troughs at the 
lower side of the box. The secret of success lies in keeping the heat regular 
during the whole process of incubation. 

An instance is mentioned where artificial incubation took place by the eggs 
of a hen lying for a few weeks in a pile of horse manure. It seems a hen had 
managed to make her nest in a cavity in the heap, and after laying eleven eggs 
the opening had been closed by the stableman piling on more of the cleanings 
of the stable. The warmth generated in the heap had incubated the eggs, and 
nine of the eleven hatched out. 

Wooden Nest Egg^s. — One who has used wooden nest eggs says they 
are far preferable to glass or china, in that they are lighter and there is no 
danger of their breaking the eggs that may be laid in the nest. There is no 
danger of sending bad eggs to market if all real eggs are gathered often ; and 
no danger from chickens or hens learning to eat eggs, which they are apt to do 
if an egg gets broken by freezing or by collision with a china egg. 

Material for Nest. — Straw is better than hay for a nest. It does not 
favor vermin as much ; it does not, in the event of accident and adhesion, re- 
quire so much trouble to remove. Whenever an egg breaks and makes the 
others sticky, all the whole ones should be removed, washed in warm water and 
thoroughly dried before the hen returns. 

Eggs Containing Chickens. — If eggs are put in warm water, those 
that contain live chickens dance a merr)' jig on the surface, while the bad ones 
make no sign. No egg explodes that has not had the germ developed, and 
fruitful, fresh eggs are not injured by traveling. 



CONSTRUCTION OF CHEESE FACTORIES. 477 

Rack for Keeping' Eggs. — Nail together four boards eighteen inches 
to two feet long and about a foot wide, into a square, open frame ; then make 
four shelves to go into the frame half an inch thick and same width as sides. 
Before putting in the shelves bore them full of inch and one-fourth holes, as 
near together as it will do to place eggs, so that the shells will not touch. The 
shelves should be equal distances apart and may be grooved in or made to rest 
upon cleats. No back or front is to be put on. Place the eggs smallest end 
down, and they will keep any reasonable length of time. 

The rack should be kept in a cool, dry place. It may be hung by wires from 
the corners in open space, or against the wall, as one may choose. The size 
may be varied, of course, to meet the demands of the constructor. 



CONSTRUCTION OF CHEESE FACTORIES. 



Lioeation for a CIiee§e Factory. — In locating a site for the con« 
struction of a cheese factory, two essential points should be kept in view : A 
dry, airy spot, with abundance of pure spring water. Avoid timbered land, 
deep shaded groves, ravines, high steep banks, if possible. Rolling ground is 
best, and a few scattering trees are not objectionable. After the water supply 
has been found, then get the best site possible near it ; but it is better to carr}- the 
water by pipe a considerable distance than to locate the building in an unsuit- 
able spot. Another feature of importance is in locating the factory as cen- 
trally as possible in the farming community that will supply the establishment 
with milk, and so that the milk wagons can easily reach the building by the 
public highways. 

ISize of Clieese Factory. — The size of factory buildings depends of 
course upon the amount of milk to be handled, and if the manufacture of but- 
ter is added, more room is necessar}- than for the same amount of milk where 
cheese alone is manufactured. 

A cheese factory to accommodate the milk from eight hundred cow^s requires 
four No. i6 vats, from forty to fifty presses, and other fixtures in proportion; a 
manufacturing room thirty by forty feet is necessary for a business of this mag- 
nitude. A curing room thirty by seventy feet and two stories high will afford 
ample room for curing the cheese, unless several months' make is kept on hand ; 
these two rooms will accommodate about fifteen hundred cheeses, or a little 
over one month's make in the height of the season from eight hundred cows. 

Plan of a Clieese Factory.— As to the mechanical arrangement of a 
cheese factory, I have obtained the following plan from one of the best builders 
and manufacturers of factory cheese in the United States. The drawing repre- 
sents the ground plan : 



478 CONSTRUCTION OF CHEESE FACTORIES. 

" A is the manufacturing room, thirty by forty feet ; B is the boiler room, 
twelve by fifteen feet ; C is the room for receiving the milk, four feet by ten, the 
floor of which should be the same height as the top of the vats, or a trifle 
higher ; D is an open shed with lean-to roof extending over it, and the receiv- 
ing room from the main building ; this should have a plank or good gravel floor 
for the wagons to stand on while unloading ; this floor should be one foot six 
inches below the scales where the weighing can stands ; E is the press room, 
fifteen by fifty feet ; the buildings so far need be but one story in height, but 
should be lathed and plastered inside or well ceiled with good lumber and pro- 
vided with steam pipes from the boiler for heating in cool weather ; the windows 
will give abundant opportunity for ventilation ; F is the curing house, two 
stories high, thirty by seventy feet, with boxing room G cut off the end, and 
ten by thirty feet. 

" H H H H are the vats ; I is a lean-to open shed for wood or coal, ten by 
thirty-five feet ; J is the drainer, sixteen feet long and mounted on strong caster 
wheels ; K is a gutter in the floor extending from the end of the press room 
through the manufacturing room to the whey conductor ; L leading off to the 
whey tank, which is not shown. This gutter should be six inches wide, with 
a shoulder on each side one inch wide, just even with the bottom of the floor, 
to receive a board of the same thickness as the floor, as a cover to the gutter, 
making it all smooth work ; this cover to the gutter must be in sections from 
two to three feet long, to allow their ready removal for cleansing the gutter. 

" The floor must slope toward the gutter from each way, from the east (sup- 
posing the factory to be standing north and south) four inches and from the 
west six inches, to allow all slops which may chance to reach the floor to pass 
quickly and readily to it, and the gutter should be two inches deep at the south 
end and eight inches deep at the north end, to allow everything to pass readily 
off ; by a simple arrangement this gutter may be used to convey the whey to 
the tank, as well as the surplus water and slops to a drain outside ; M is a large 
sink for washing hoops, etc. ; and N two tanks, one for hot and one for cold 
water, and may be placed overhead out of the way, and should, at all events, 
be high enough to draw water from either at pleasure into the sink, a steam 
pipe from the boiler furnishing the heat for the hot water tank ; O is a room four 
feet by eight, for the salt barrels, rennet jars and scales for weighing salt. 

" I I I I are sliding doors, two of them opening from the manufacturing to 
the press room, and the other two from the receiving room to the wagon stand ; 
these should be hung on rollers at the top ; 2 2 2, etc., are doors, and the open 
spaces are windows ; many factories have blinds to their windows, but we re- 
gard it as the better plan and less expensive to have curtains of common cotton 
cloth and mounted on rollers ; the cloth may be colored with annotto, which 
will give the light a soft mellow tint when the curtains are down, which need be 
only when the direct rays of the sun would strike directly into the room. 



CONSTRUCTION OF CHEESE FACTORIES. 



479 




480 CONSTRUCTION OF CHEESE FACTORIES. 

Chee§e Factory Walls. — " This building should be finished throughout 
with double plastering, or else a space between the outside and inside filled 
with sawdust, which will render it very easy to control the temperature to a 
very great extent. The lower room should be provided with steam pipes for 
warming, which will be found to be the best arrangement, as well as the cheap- 
est in the long run." 

Cheese Factory Presses. — " The presses arranged on each side of the 
press room (see small circles in the drawing) must be so constructed as to not 
allow any of the whey, as it runs from the cheese during the pressing or while 
putting the curd in the hoops, or when the bandaging is being performed, ta 
fall upon the floor. This we regard as very essential, from the fact that if the 
whey from the presses falls on the floor, although the utmost care and pains are 
taken to scrub and scald every day, the floor will absorb so much of the whey^ 
that in a short time a sour smell arises, which is at once disagreeable, loath- 
some and positively injurious to the milk and cheese. 

" There are various devices for keeping the whey from the floor as it flows 
from the cheese, but none more effectual than to hang a pail on each pressing 
board, so as to catch every drop of whey as it flows from the cheese ; no matter 
what position the press board is in, the pail is there ever ready for service. 

" The press boards are frequently made with a groove cut in the upper sur- 
face to conduct the whey to one point. When the whey flows rapidly from the 
cheese, this groove overflows and the whey runs anywhere but in the right 
place. It is better to have a strip nailed on the edge of the press board all 
around, to project three-fourths of an inch above the surface of the board ; this 
holds all the whey, and with a hole bored where needed, the whey is readily 
conducted to the desired point. 

'• Another device is to have a double press board, the bottom one fixed and a 
groove cut in it, so as to convey the whey into a fixed trough running along the 
back side of the presses, the hole for the escape of the whey from the upper 
board being so arranged as to be always over the groove in the bottom board, 
whether it is in place or drawn out for putting the curd in the hoops or for 
bandaging the cheese." 

To Hoist Milk Cans. — " The best apparatus for hoisting the milk cans 
in a factory for receiving the milk is a common warehouse wheel. This may 
be used in connection with a crane, or if sufficient elevation can be had to allow 
the cans to swing, it may be used the same as it generally is in warehouses. 

" A friction wheel, worked by the engine, might very readily be arranged tO' 
do the hoisting, and this would save a good deal of heavy muscular exertion. 
But with a good wheel arranged, one man can perform all the labor of receivings 
the milk just as well as to occupy three or four, as is the case in some factories." 

Cheese Factory \l^indows. — "Plenty of light is absolutely essential 
for the successful prosecution of the work, and is also an essential element of 



RURAL MISCELLANY. 



481 



pleasantness. The windows should all be so constructed that they may be 
readily looked out of without getting on a bench, standing on tip-toe or getting 
on the knees. A cheerful, pleasant appearing dairy room, with pleasant sur- 
roundings, removes half the irksomeness of the labor, is inconceivably better on 
the score of health among the operatives, and, although it may not be so readily 
recognized, really adds very materially to the good looks and appearance, if not 
to the quality of the product." 



RURAL MISCELLANY. 



Portable Farm Crane. — A crane made after the fashion of the illustra- 
tion may be of any size the farmer desires. The standard may rest upon cross 
pieces halved together, or upon a square piece of two inch plank, braced with 
iron or wood. The top of the post should contain a pin for the lever to work 




PORTABLE FARM CRANE. 



upon as a pivot. An iron hook is fastened to large end of the pole. The lever 
may taper somewhat from pivot to hook end, also from pivot the long way. 
Any one may make it who possesses ordinary mechanical genius, and at a tri- 
fling expenditure. 

Broom Corn Frames. — A professional tells how he makes his racks or 
frames for curing broom corn, and his method is both simple and practical : 

" I usually cure my brush on my barn floors, thus : I lay down two six inch 
boards about eighteen inches apart, and upon these I nail laths six inches apart 
the whole length. After making one for a pattern I continue to make a suffi- 
cient number like it, and place this ladder work upon end, forming stalls about 
three feet nine inches wide, the laths making the permanent supports. 

" As the brush is scraped, about two-thirds of an armful is placed upon the 
laths, slipped in across the stall, commencing at the bottom end ; then two more 
laths are put in above, and so on to the top. About 2,000 cubic feet of space 



482 RURAL MISCELLANY. 

will dry a ton of brush in fifteen days in good drying weather. If the brush is 
wet or damp it should be spread thinner. 

"When a majority of the brush is well out of the leaf, and the seed in the 
milk approaching the dough state, the crop, if cut all at one time, will produce 
more pounds of brush and of better color than at any other stage of growth. 
In all the handlings keep the brush as even as possible and heads all one way." 

To Make a Bag' Frame. — In the upper wall of the granary put a 
couple of staples or large nails four or six feet apart, and to these attach fine, 
strong wires long enough to come down within handy reach. To the lower 
ends of the wires suspend a rake handle or other small rod, over which the bags 
may be hung with an assurance that not a mouse can reach them. 

Large JSell on tlie Farm. — When the gong described on page 500 is 
not procured, a large bell should be kept, and every farmer's wife should insist 
on her husband getting one. Not only in cases of fire, but in case of any acci- 
dent that may happen to the house, or to the family at night, or in the day 
time, through sickness, a broken limb, a severe cut, a gunshot wound, or in the 
event of the many severe accidents that might occur, the bell would at once 
summon aid and effect the saving of property or Hfe. 

To Clean Seed Oats. — An old grain grower says : " Place your oats 
in a heap on the middle of the threshing floor at the end that the wind blows 
to. Get you a milking stool and a small scoop — your wife's flour scoop will do — 
and throw the oats with a light turn of the wrist to the other end of the floor 
against a gentle wind. 

" A little practice will soon enable you to throw it in a half circle and at the 
same distance. Sweep off now and then the utmost circle for seed, the light 
oats for feed and the weed seed to burn. You will now have seed oats worthy 
to sow without buying at $5 per bushel. I saw oats grown in Sweden until I was 
forty, but I never saw a heavy crop where the seed was not cleaned as above." 

Forcing Kadislies. — Radishes may be grown in a few days, it is claimed, 
by the following method : Let some good radish seed soak in water for twenty- 
four hours, then put them in a bag and expose it to the sun. In the course of 
the day germination will commence. The seed must then be sown in a well 
manured hot bed, and watered from time to time with lukewarm water. By 
this treatment the radishes will, in a very short time, acquire a sufficient bulk 
and be good to eat. 

Seeding Bare Spots. — Spots where knolls have been leveled in summer 
may be seeded the following March successfully. The advantage in doing the 
Avork then, lies in exposing the soil which is laid bare to the action of the atmos= 
phere, frost and sun for some months before seeding is done, which is neces- 
sary to obtain a growth, of grass. If the land is stiff clay, give a coating of 
loamy soil before applying the seed. By a Httle care the alluvial portion just 
beneath the sod of the mound may be saved for this purpose. 



RURAL MISCELLANY. 483 

Lines for Salving Boards. — It is always advisable to mark your wood 
with a chalk or pencil line before beginning to saw. If timber is not sawn 
straight or square, much extra work is afterward required to plane it or finish 
it up true. It is not a bad plan for a beginner, who is sawing a long plank, 
to mark both sides of the wood, and to turn it over when he is departing from 
the line. 

Foiindatioii for a Dam. — In case the bottom of the river is quicksand 
or soft soil, it is difficult to keep a dam foundation from being washed out. 
Even if laid of stone a flood will displace them. Men of experience say that 
nothing will stand so well as bundles of brush. Hemlock and willow are best, 
but any kind will do. The building is simple, and the labor can be performed 
by any common laborers. 

The commencement in a strong current is the most difficult, which can be 
effected by placing the body of a tree across the stream for the brush or trees 
to rest upon, with the tops up stream in all cases. When a good foundation is 
laid, coat it with stone, and so on alternately, until the required height is pro- 
duced, reserving the largest stones and the lightest brush for the last coating. 
Make tight with gravel or clay and stick bank willows every two feet through- 
out the whole course, and you will soon have a dam that will want but little 
repairing, and which will be durable and permanent and no floods can move it. 

Trees put in top ends up stream also work well. Lay as closely as possible ; pin 
on a cross pole six inches through; then put on another layer of trees, laid on as 
before, breaking the spaces as well as may be, letting the ends rest on the pole, 
on which they are pinned as before ; then another pole as the first, and so 
on up to the top of the dam. Each layer of trees should be laid with butts two 
or three feet further up stream, to form a proper slope for the descent of the 
water, so as to prevent its boiHng back and undermining the work 

How to Make a Bag Holder. — A bag holder is a very convenient 
thing to have in the barn, corn crib or granary, and may be made in a short time 
by any one. Take a piece of plank about twenty inches long and a foot wide, 
bevel off the ends a little and nail strips of thin boards 
six or eight inches wide to it for uprights. The plank 
base should be beveling enough to make the uprights 
about fifteen inches apart at the upper ends. 

The bag is placed between these, and the upper end 
folded over the ends of the uprights two or three inches. 
It will be held firm and in a convenient position for fill- 
ing. The uprights should be just long enough so that 
the bag will rest upon the plank when being filled. convenient bag holder. 

Two hooks fastened upon the wall of a granary or crib eight or ten inches 
apart and the proper height from the floor will be found handy for holding bags 
while filling them from the half bushel. 




484 



RURAL MISCELLANY. 



Foothold for Fanning^ Mills. — Horse power machinery has not yet 
put the fanning mill entirely into disuse, and probably never will ; for one is 
always found handy at the farm barn. When used upon an uneven floor it is 
not likely to stand solid or keep in one position. The rapid turning- of the 
crank makes the mill slide around in a provoking manner. 

The mill can easily be made stationary by use of cleats at front and back 





SIMPLE FOOTHOLD FOR A FANNING MILL. 




IRON FOOTHOLD FOR 

FANNING MILL. 



ends. To make the cleats, take two strips of board four or five inches wide — 

half inch thick will do — and one foot longer than the mill is wide. Saw half in 

two six inches from each end, and remove one-half of the wood between the 

cuts. One or two nails partly driven in will hold the cleats 

to the floor and the mill to its place. 

Another way is to turn the mill upon one side and drive a 
heavy wrought nail into the center of each leg ; file them off 
near the head, allowing them to protrude one-fourth or three- 
eighths of an inch, then file the ends sharp so that they 
will easily penetrate the barn floor. 

It is best to cut off the points of the nails before driving 

them in, so as to leave a blunt end in the wood ; they are 

less liable to be driven up by pressure. 

Another way still is to screw on to each post a malleable corner iron, that 

can be bought at any hardware store for a few cents. When the mill is set in 

place a screw may be driven through the projecting iron into the floor, and 

removed again at pleasure. 

How to Pull a Sheep Pelt. — Should the flock master be so situated 
that he finds no profitable market for his sheep pelts, he can arrange to " pull " 
them himself with very little trouble and no great amount of labor. The fol- 
lowing process given by a wool grower is a very good one : 

" The pelts should be soaked until thoroughly softened — say from twenty- 
four to forty hours — and, if possible, in running water. A latticed or perforated 
box sunk into a stream will answer for a vat. From this they should be hung 
in a close, vv^arm room — a tight cellar, for instance. If no such room is availa- 
ble, a tight box can be used. 

" The breech end of the pelt should be tacked to a stick or lath, and the pelts 
hung as closely as can be, without touching. They will pretty soon begin to 
ferment, and as soon as they are tender enough to shed the wool easily — which 



RURAL MISCELLANY. 485 

can be ascertained by trying a lock with the thumb and finger — they must be 
pulled." 

To Make a Fleece Horse. — A pulling "horse " can be extemporized 
thus : " Take a smooth log, five or six feet long and about a foot in diameter ; 
split through the center, and in one end put two legs two feet long, leaving the 
round side uppermost, one end resting on the ground. Place the pelt on this 
horse, with the wool side up, and if in proper order, the wool can be scraped 
from it in less time than it takes to read these directions. For scraping the 
wool off, a large wooden knife — a ' skiver ' — is best, as it answers every pur- 
pose and does not endanger the skin. 

" The wool should be dried as soon as can be, to avoid molding, and is then 
ready to be sacked for market. Care should be taken that the skin does not rot 
before the process of pulling, or the cuticule will adhere to the roots of the wool, 
making it unsightly, and consequently unsalable." 

Working Highways. — One of the worst features in the management of 
roads is working them but once a year, and this in part accounts for the water 
pools on the wayside ; the ditches not being kept open after they are con- 
structed. Another bad feature is the plan of filling rut holes with cobble-heads, 
for as soon as the earth around the stones settles or washes away, an annoy- 
ing prominence is left to jog every one who rides over it, and it also obstructs 
the working of the scraper. Stone or gravel should never be put upon the 
highway, unless enough is used to macadamize for a certain extent the whole 
width of the track. 

Mistakes in Transplanting. — One of the most fatal mistakes made by 
novices in transplanting, is the idea that it must be done when the earth is wet. 
If you can so time your work that you can transplant just before a shower, you 
will have hit the mark exactly, but if not, wait until the land is again in good 
working order. Never set out plants in the mud. Just at night or in cloudy 
weather is the best time. If the plants are small, keep the roots in water until 
they are replanted. 

Mechanical Improvements of ^oil. — The cultivator can improve 
his soil mechanically by the use of a different kind of earth upon the one to be 
improved. Fifty loads of stiff clay to the acre, applied in the fall, to a light 
sand, to be plowed in the spring, and one hundred loads of sand applied to 
heavy clay land, and spread any time before plowing, will be found to have very 
beneficial effects, and this mixing of soils, where necessary materials are not too 
far apart (which very frequently is not the case), affords one of the cheap means 
of improving the soil, especially as the operation can be carried on at such 
times when the hands and teams might otherwise be idle. 

Root Trimming of Trees. — Nineteen-twentieths of all the shade trees, 
especially maples, planted out in our streets, have the roots chopped off in tak- 
ing up, and to balance this, the tops are also cut entirely away. A tree, three 



486 RURAL MISCELLANY. 

or even four inches in diameter, is left with a root of eighteen inches, or even 
less, and without a single branch at the top. 

It is wonderful that trees so treated live, and when they do so, it shows the 
strength of the vital principle within. A tree should have good, long roots, and 
a few branches at least, and then, if carefully planted, the chances of success 
exceed those of failure, and stakes are not necessary to support the trees, unless 
cattle or other animals rub against them. 

Strength of Oak Columns. — A standard adopted in England is, 
that an oak column of a length not greater than fifteen times its diameter 
should sustain a load of five hundred pounds to the square inch of its sectional 
surface. These facts may be of benefit to farmers. 

How to Make a Half Mile Track. — The Spirit of the Times 
directs that for inside fence lay off two parallel straight lines each six hundred 
feet long and four hundred fifty-one and four-nineteenths feet apart, taking- 
care that a cross line from the end of one to the end of the other will form an 
exact right angle, and then run a perfect curve at each end upon a radius of 
two hundred and twenty-six and two-tenth feet. The curves can be conven- 
iently made by placing a firm peg in the center of the cross line referred to, to 
which a wire can be attached ; then measure off two hundred and twenty-six 
and two-tenths feet of the wire, and at that distance put down pegs correspond- 
ing with the panels of the fence desired. 

A track thus constructed will measure an exact half mile three feet from the 
inside fence. Of course the outside fence will be placed according to the width 
of track desired. For public purposes, the homestretch should not be less than 
sixty feet wide, and the remainder of the track from forty to fifty. 

Hoiv to Fumigate a Karn. — McClurers directs the procuring of a 
kettle of coals, and upon the same put a piece of brimstone stick as large as a 
man's thumb. This will fumigate a large cattle shed or barn in about twenty 
minutes. 

The result from experiments with it are shown, which leads to the conviction 
that the diseases, such as cholera, pleuro-pneumonia, mange, ring worm, and 
lice, have disappeared before the gas, and that greasy heels in horses have been 
cured by it, while serious cases of glanders have also been amended by the 
judicious use of the once considered poisonous gas. 

Outdoor Brick Ovens.— "After the foundation has been prepared, let 
two courses of hard bricks be laid for the bottom of the oven. Then build the 
mouth and part of the sides, until it is desirable to begin to draw the sides in- 
ward, when sand or mellow earth may be placed on the foundation, and the 
surface smoothed off and pressed down to the desired form of the oven. Now 
let the brick work be built over this form of sand. Let two courses of hard 
bricks be built over the form with the best of mortar. After the last bricks 
have been laid the sand may be removed. 



RURAL MISCELLANY. 487 

" The bricks should be soaked for several hours previous to being laid, so 
that they will not absorb the moisture of the mortar until it has set. Such an 
oven will cost but a few dollars. Many people can collect a sufficient number 
of loose bricks and pieces around their dwellings to build a brick oven. Besides 
this, any intelligent man, though half a mechanic, can build such an oven about 
as well as a mason." 

To Make Houises Fire-proof. — A writer in CasseW s Magazine in- 
quires why should we not make rural houses uninflammable and our furni- 
ture fire-proof? Timber may be prevented from firing by simply impregnating 
it with a concentrated solution of rock salt. The fact has, he says, been 
announced by a German chemist, who was commissioned by a fire insurance 
company to solve the question, that salt renders the wood proof against the 
ravages of fire and also against dry rot. 

How to Make a Ooose IVest. — Three inches of horse manure should 
be placed on the ground, and plenty of straw formed in a nest upon this. 
Then place a large box over this with one side open, leaving only room for the 
goose to go out and in. 

How to Drive a IVail. — It is advisable always to bore a hole in your 
work before driving in a nail, and this hole should be one size smaller than the 
nail. In soft woods the nail will be easily driven into the work without a hole 
being made, but the wood very frequently will be split. The nail should be hit 
exactly in the center of the head to make good work. A few short taps first, 
and then heavier blows. 

Hauling^ Owt Manure. — I do not approve of hauling manure upon grass 
land at any season of the year but spring ; for if drawn out in the summer, it is 
liable to dry up and a good deal of its fertihzing element be carried away upon 
the atmosphere ; if drawn out in fall or winter, the heavy rains will, while the 
earth is frozen, wash a portion away to the streams ; but if drawn out and 
spread upon the surface in the spring, just as the grass begins to grow, it is soon 
covered, and the warm rains wash it down around the roots of the grass, where 
the full benefit is received. 

How to Destroy Weeds. — Weeds which are cut after they have gone 
to seed should be burned before they are sufficiently dried to shell. Where 
they are dead ripe and dry, it is better to mow them down and burn without 
piling ; a little dry straw, poor hay, shavings or litter of any kind sprinkled over 
dry weeds after mowing, or if they are thick before, and burning the mass to- 
gether, will destroy a multitude of seeds. Weeds that have seeded, whether 
dry or green, should never be put into the compost heap, for there will be no 
assurance of the seeds losing their vitality. 

When it is possible to do so, weeds should be cut at some period before out of 
bloom, for perfect security against propagation is given and the mass may be 
made of value by decomposing. 



488 RURAL MISCELLANY. 

Planting' Seeds Early. — Spring frosts will not injure beets, carrots, cab- 
bages, celery, cauliflowers, lettuce, leek, parsnips, parsley, peas, onions, radishes, 
salsify, spinach or turnips. These seeds or plants may be put into the ground 
as soon as it is in order with safety. In making selections, it is best for begin- 
iiers to stick to old and established sorts and to cultivate but a few V3.rieties of 
each kind. Experience will soon decide for you when it is safe to venture after 
new kinds, and also those best suited to your soil and conditions. 

Packing Strawberry Plants to Sliip. — Take up good, sound and 
young well established runners ; remove all decayed leaves, tie them in bunches of 
twenty-five or fifty, with their crowns evenly arranged ; wrap in moist swamp 
moss ; pack tight in an open box with the crowns upward, and nail slats across 
the top to keep them in and yet allow free access of air. Thus shipped, they 
will go long distances without injury. The best season for shipping in spring 
is the last of April, and in the fall the middle of September. 

Use of Tan JBark. — I consider tan bark of very little value as a manure 
and on some soils an absolute injury unless well decayed, and years are required 
for that process. On a heavy clay, tan bark may be of some benefit as a 
loosener of the soil, to lighten it up so that vegetation can draw the primitive 
elements. As a mulch for strawberries it answers a tolerable purpose, but as a 
mulch generally I should prefer many other materials ; as an absorbent for 
stable use it is not valuable, nor is sawdust, when so many better materials are 
as easily obtained. I would not haul tan bark twenty rods for any purpose 
unless for house banking or some similar use, and would not allow it to be put 
upon good, loamy soil if the work should be offered gratuitously. 

Saving Onion Sets, — The cheapest and best way to get a good supply of 
onion sets is to save them from black seed when thinning out beds. Preserve 
those ranging from the size of a bean up to the dimensions of a chestnut. 
Throw them upon the ground or a platform of boards and let them lie there, 
rain or shine, until the tops are entirely dead and dried up. Spread them on the 
garret floor or any convenient place in the barn or wood house until fall, when 
they should be put where frost cannot reach them. 

Any amount of sets may be raised by sowing black seed broadcast in a rich 
nook of the garden, and pulHng and drying when at the right age, as above 
directed. They may be sown for this purpose at almost any time during the 
summer. If farmers would pay more attention to saving garden seed they 
might secure earlier vegetables. A great deal depends upon having seeds ready 
when wanted, and having them all grow when put in the ground. 

Summering Over May. — It should be the aim of every farmer to sum- 
mer over at least half a winter supply of old hay, and if possible a full supply 
to take the stock commonly kept through the winter. Then in case of a short 
crop no sacrifices have to be made. The husbandman who in time of short 
crops is caught with an insufficient amount of feed for his stock as the chills of 



RURAL MISCELLANY. 



489 



winter come on, is made a victim of circumstances unpleasant indeed. At such 
a. time stock will not bring a fair price ; the best of his herd and flocks have to 
go, if any ; fodder and grain advance to figures which make absolute loss in 
feeding, and discouragement follows. 

To I>ecoiiipose Bones. — Dr. Voelcker says : " Placed in a heap with 
ashes or sand, occasionally moistened with liquid manure or water, bone enters 
into putrefaction and becomes a more soluble and energetic manure than ordi- 
nary bone dust. 

Best Fertilizers. — In the discussion as to proper manures, I fear that the 
condition of the soil itself is too often neglected. Many are led to believe that 
the great value of manures depends upon their direct absorption into the struc- 
ture and seeds of plants ; and while this is true to a certain extent, the other 
fact should be constantly borne in mind, namely, that manures act as solvents 
of ingredients already existing in the soils. 

Too much care cannot therefore be taken in the proper preparation of the 
soil. Harrows, clod crushers and effective underdraining are often better fer- 
tilizers than all the manures we can apply. Without such prepartion of soil, 
manures are of comparatively little benefit ; with it the poorest soil may be made 
to yield a large return. 

Contrivance for \f^eig-liin§- Hay. — Make an upright standard, five or 
six feet in length, of four by four scantling ; a round pole will do as well. Near 
the bottom of this standard, two two-inch holes 
are bored crossing each other, one its width above 
the other. Round, straight poles are slipped 
through these holes, projecting some three or four 
feet each side of the standard. 

On the ends of these poles are laid and fast 
ened light, narrow strips of boards or poles form- 
ing a square, the sides of which are equally distant 
from the standard. A clevis is attached to the 
top end of the standard in which to hook the steel- 
yard. The usual lever arrangement is used to 
raise the hay, which is simply pitched on the 
platform. When not in use the cross poles can 
be slipped out and the whole stored in a small 
place. 

How to I>ig- Potatoes. — Digging pota- 
toes by hand is hard work, taken in its easiest 
form. With the common tools used much more labor is expended often than 
is required. In sandy soil the potato hook is much better than the hoe, and 
more work may be done by the use of a common barn shovel than either in any 
soil. By driving the shovel down beside and under the hill, a portion may be 




PLATFORM FOR WEIGHING HAY. 



490 RURAL MISCELLANY. 

lifted out, and by a quick jerk the whole scattered over the surface, the potatoes 
separated from the soil. Two applications to a hill will generally do the work 
complete. 

Scythe for Cutting Bushes. — For cutting briars and thistles, half a 
scythe hung upon a snath makes a good tool, and for bushes nothing is better 
than an ax. Cut the bushes low, better beneath the surface than above it, for 
if stubs are left, animals are liable to receive injury by stepping upon them. 

Utilizing Rotten Apples. — When picking over apples in the cellar, have 
a barrel prepared with a few holes in the bottom, standing upon an inclined 
platform, and into this throw the rotten apples ; mash them up, add a little water 
and a pressure. The cider extracted will make vinegar. 

Seeds from Strong Plants. — It is mistaken policy to save seeds from, 
the last and most feeble growth of plants. A portion of each valuable variety 
in the garden should be selected from those in full strength and vigor, and 
allowed to ripen undisturbed. Seeds from such are worth double those gathered 
from the former ; they are certain, while the others are not, and experience has 
proven that the first matured seeds will develop their kind two weeks in advance 
of those gathered from the latest growth. 

A hill or single vine of squashes, cucumbers, etc., should be set apart to ripen, 
their productions, for so much nutriment is drawn from the vine to make up full 
grown seed fruit, that the supply of cucumbers for pickling, or of summer 
squashes for table use, will be materially cut short if the vines throughout the 
garden are burdened with this work. 

To Manage Locust Seed. — Locust seed may be kept dry for a year 
or two without destroying its vitality, but it must in all cases be thoroughly 
scalded before sowing, or it will lie a whole year in the ground without vegetat- 
ing. For a quart of seed, pour on four quarts of hot water and let it stand 
twelve or twenty-four hours, when most, if not all, of the seeds will be swollen, 
to several times their former size. 

Stir the seeds while in the water so as to agitate them briskly, and while in 
motion pour off the water and swollen seeds, while the others, being heavier, 
will remain at the bottom of the vessel ; then scald and let soak as before, and 
they will generally all swell. The seeds can then be sown where designed to 
remain or in a nursery bed, and the trees transplanted when one year old. 

To Test Small Seeds. — To test small seeds, count'out a given number 
and sow them regularly in a box of fine earth, covering them about one-half 
inch deep by sprinkling on fine dirt. Keep them moist with warm, soft water, 
and count the number of plants that grow. If five out of every fifty fail, it majr 
be put down as tolerably certain that one-tenth of the whole seed is poor, and 
an extra amount should be used accordingly. 

Testing Seed Corn.— On the upper side of the kernel, or the side next 
to the tip of the ear, is a cove or indentation. At the bottom of this cove lies 



RURAL MISCELLANY. 491 

the germ, and very near the surface, being covered with Httle else than the thin 
hull of the kernel. 

If the seed possesses vitality, this germ will be plainly visible in the form of 
a narrow, rounded cord or stripe, running from the head of the cove toward 
the point of the kernel, and usually of a darker color than the general surface of 
the cove. It is not necessary that the germ should form a ridge through the 
bottom of the cove. Its appearance is more as if imbedded in the kernel and 
slightly covered with a semi-transparent surface. If the enamel of the cove is 
bright and smooth and this line visible, we may be sure the seed will germinate. 
If the surface of the cove is dull and wrinkled, and no line visible, it will be use- 
less to test it in earth. 

How to Plant IVuts. — Chestnuts, walnuts and similar kinds of tree seeds 
should never be suffered to become perfectly dry before planting. If not con- 
venient to plant them soon after their time of ripening, they should be put in a 
box of sand and kept moist (not wet), and be allowed to freeze during winter, 
then planted early in the spring, covering them about two inches in depth. 

They may be planted where the trees are to remain, taking care to keep the 
plants clear of weeds and grass while young ; or, they can be transplanted 
when two or three years old, taking them up carefully without injuring the roots, 
and not exposing them to drying while out of the ground. 

Bottling^ Seeds. — Garden seeds, after being well dried, may be put in 
bottles and left uncorked and rendered perfectly secure against the ravages of 
mice. Another advantage in the use of bottles is, the seeds may be readily 
seen at any time and labels dispensed with. 

Stripping" Tobacco. — An eastern tobacco grower advises those produc- 
ing that crop not to be in a hurry to get tobacco down and stripped, for more 
sap will be found in the stem than is supposed to exist there if stripped early, 
and the tobacco will injure after being bulked. He says, let it hang on the 
poles till thoroughly cured, if it takes till January or April ; then strip, assort,, 
and pack carefully and honestly. 

If you have occasion to pack it in boxes, use boxes two and one-half feet 
wide inside, by three and one-half in length. He has often seen tobacco 
that the tips of the leaves would have to fold over in a three and a half foot 
case when packed ; but speculators and buyers object to a longer case, and in-^ 
sist, almost invariably, upon the above sized cases. 

Sprouting Seed Corn. — If the crop can be put in seasonably, I do not 
believe that soaking is advisable, for there is no telling what the weather may 
be three days ahead ; and if unfavorable, the grain put to soak is made to 
lie in water until the sprouts become so long that they will be broken off while 
handling, and besides, soaked corn cannot be used in a planting machine, either 
horse or hand. Another disadvantage from soaking corn may come from dry- 
weather following the deposit of the seed. 



492 RURAL MISCELLANY. 

I have known farmers to lose their entire labor from such events, the sprouted 
grain drying up in the hill and becoming worthless. Grain which germinates 
in the natural way — /. e,, from the moisture in the earth — is not affected by a hot 
5un as that which has been soaked full of water and had the same drawn out 
ty the earth. 

Using the Hand Corn Planter. — If the weather at planting time is 
dry, I always use a hand planter, for when the seed is covered with loose dirt 
from the hoe, the sun and wind very soon dries up the soil and prevents germi- 
nation ; or if sprouted, dries up the grain and destroys it, as before stated. 

One year, when planting a five acre field in dry weather, I abandoned the hoe 
when about half way through and took the hand planter for the purpose of 
saving time, and finished the field ; the result was that the last planted came up 
several days earlier than the former, and kept ahead all the season, and so dis- 
tinctly that the dividing row could be seen at fifty rods distance, and the yield of 
the two and a half acres put in with the hoe was at least one hundred bushels 
less than the same amount of land put in with the planter, and the soil was the 
same. 

Now the whole of this difference was owing to the circumstance mentioned 
above. While that which was deposited in damp, close soil, sprouted immedi- 
ately, that with a light coating of dry earth over it came on very slowly, and 
made a sickly growth during the whole season. 




CHEAP AND HANDY BARN TRUCK. 



Barn Truck, — A very handy truck for moving barrels of grain, vegetables 
'etc., may be made by framing together two pieces of three by three scantling 
and three strips of planks, so as to form a platform three feet long and two feet 
wide, and resting the same upon four piano casters. The illustration shows the 
truck without board platform ; one may be put in if so desired. 

Ho^v to Save Timotliy Seed. — Timothy designed for seed should be 
allowed to stand until fully ripe before gathering, and then cut in the morning 
or evening while a little moist with dew, to prevent loss by shelling. In places 
Avhere the cradle cannot be handily used, cut with the sickle ; never use the 
scythe if it is possible to get along without it. 

The grass should be bound in as large bundles as can be easily handled, and 
bound tight, for the purpose of saving all the seed. Large sheaves give protec- 
tion to a greater number of heads than small ones, and tight bands hold the 
-seed that falls into the center. 

Set the bundles up two by two, and when all moisture is dried out and the 



RURAL MISCELLANY. 493 

heads " strip" easily, draw to the barn in a tight boxed wagon, and thrash im- 
mediately. Run the seed slowly through the fanning mill, and then through a 
fine wire sieve, holding it high in a light breeze so that all of the chaffy matter 
will be blown away, leaving the seed entirely pure. 

Seed Saver for the Stable. — Many bushels of grass seed may be 
saved during the winter season by arranging the mangers after the following 
plan : Instead of having a board in the bottom of your manger, have the bottom 
made of slats an inch and a half or two inches wide, with an opening between 
of not over one inch ; if the opening is larger, too much hay will get through 
with the seed. 

Make an inclined plane from the bottom of the slats, so that the seed will 
slide into your feed room or barn floor, as it may be. The space in front from 
the slats to the inclined plane of ten or fifteen inches should be left open ; if there 
is but a narrow space left for the grass seed to slide out, it will soon be filled 
up with the hay that the horses will work through the slats. The seed that you 
will save in one winter by this arrangement will pay twenty times over for put- 
ting it in. 

To Revive Wilted Cutting's. — Mix three or four drops of spirits of 
camphor with an ounce of water, and keep the stems in this fluid for half a day 
or more, in a dark place, till they have entirely recovered. 

To Clean Seed WTieat. — Take some thin lumber, say siding, and tack 
a board to the bottom of the fanning mill sieve so as to cover about half — the 
outer half. Have your sieves not very slanting ; turn moderately. When the 
wheat leaves the hopper on the sieve the wind carries the oats farther than 
the good wheat, and they go on to the board and over into the tailings, while 
the wheat is left clean. 

Storing Beans. — Beans after thrashing should not be stored in large 
quantities, as they are liable to sweat and mold ; it is well to spread them in a 
dry room for a time, and then-put them in sacks to prevent the generation of 
moisture. If necessary to store in boxes or barrels, they should frequently be 
changed from one to another until perfectly dry ; this will expose them to the 
air and bring the bottom ones at the top. 

To Plo^v Under Corn Stalks. — The first action should be breaking 
down the stalks, which may be done by hauling across the field a piece of tim- 
ber sidewise. If the stalks do not lie down straight enough, the harrow may 
be used. 

Scales on tlie Farm. — Let every man provide his family with accurate 
scales and measures ; then educate every member of the family that is old 
enough to do business how to use them. 

Weigh every article to be sold, and make a note of the weight ; don't trust 
to memory ; memory is sometimes treacherous. Then, when the article is sold, 
make a note of the purchaser's weight ; compare the two. Again, when an 



494 RURAL MISCELLANY. 

article is bought make a note of the seller's weight, then weigh the same article 
at home ; compare weight again. By pursuing such a course any person may 
soon become satisfied whether there is fraud practiced or not, and be governed 
accordingly. 

For a few dollars platform scales with scoop balance combined can be pur- 
chased, and they will give the weight of articles from half an ounce to two or 
three hundred pounds. 

Orowing Trees from Roots. — When you wish to procure young 
fruit trees of a particular kind — for transplanting — dig around the old tree some 
eight or ten feet off, and turn the end of the detached root up out of the ground, 
and it will send out shoots the first season, and in a few years bear fruit of the 
same kind as the parent tree, and it will make just as good a tree as you would 
purchase of a nurseryman, and the expense of purchase is saved. 

Cutting' and Killing Buslies. — I always had the best success in cut- 
ting bushes in midsummer, not at any special time in the moon, but at a time 
when the shrubs had expended their vital force or finished their growth for the 
season. But few shrubs cut down in August will sprout again. When cutting, 
do not leave a sharp edged snag in a single instance, for a valuable horse, ox 
or cow may be ruined by it , cut below the surface every bush too large to be 
mown down readily with a common hand scythe. 

To Make a Cheap Pulley, — A very good pulley to be used with a 
strap may be made by sawing a block from the end of a round, dry iron wood 
pole. Bore a hole through the center, put in an axletree, and then true the sur- 
face by scribing a circle upon the block. Two square blocks, an eighth of an 
inch thicker than the pulley, and a couple of side pieces of proper length will 
form the box for the pulley to run in. When it is to be used for a door weight, 
fasten the blocks to the casings, put the pulley between them, and put on the 
cap. On barn doors the pulley may be weighted by the poll of an ax or an old 
flatiron. 

How to Camp Out. — Mr. John Hutchins, the veteran and noted trap- 
per of Maine, when interviewed once upon the subject of woodcraft, said : 

" There is a good deal to be learned about camping out. When I go into 
the woods to trap for any length of time I generally build a home shanty of 
logs or bark. If I want to build one which will last three or four years, I make 
it of logs, notching or dovetailing the ends and laying them up in block house 
style, filling the cracks with moss, and making a roof of split cedar or bark. 

•' Sometimes I make a shanty by simply driving down two crotched sticks, 
placing a pole on them, and sticking down poles all around excepting the front, 
and covering them all over with spruce bark. When near the home shanty I 
sleep there, of course, but at other times I have no covering but a single blan- 
ket. I find a big log, and make my bed of boughs on that side of it least ex- 
posed to the wind. 



RURAL MISCELLANY. 495 

" If the snow is deep, I select my camping place on the hill side, digging 
down to the ground to make a fire and sleeping myself on the snow below, so 
that the flame of the fire will shine directly upon me. 

" When traveling by water, I draw the boat on to the bank at night, partly 
turn it up, and sleep under it, building a fire a few feet distant m front. I 
generally have slept very soundly in the woods." 

Packing Crreeii Corn for Market. — The following method of pack- 
ing corn for market is recommended by several market gardeners who supply 
large canning establishments : 

' The ears of corn are thrown indiscriminately in a barrel, the number of ears, 
however, being carefully kept, until it is filled within six or eight inches of the 
top, when the whole is finished off with a number of good large ears placed up- 
right, the point of the ear downward. After these last ears are fitted in nicely, 
the butts are driven down with the flat side of a piece of board two feet long by 
'Cight inches wide. This method keeps the corn in its place in the barrel. 

" When corn is intended for open market, it can be packed in truck baskets 
holding from four to six dozen ears, the whole finished off in the manner de- 
scribed above." 

To Hake a Stave Oauge. — A tank maker gives the following descrip- 
tion of a very simple gauge for staves : Make a gauge of a thin piece of board 
(a shingle will do), by striking part of a circle on it of a size desired for the 
largest end of the tank, also another part of a circle of the size of the small 
end of the tank, struck from the same center. Draw radial lines across the 
segment thus marked out, say about one-eighth of an inch apart. Cut the 
shingle to the circular lines and nail a piece of lath to it, the straight edge of it 
to one of the outside radial lines, and the gauge is finished which will lay out 
correctly any stave to be wide or. narrow. 

Suppose a stave will work to a certain width, place the gauge upon that end 
and mark from the edge of the lath to any radial line which fits the width of 
the stave, marking by the line which reaches the outer circle of the gauge. 
Then slide the gauge to the other end of the stave, or the distance correspond- 
ing to the height of the tank, and mark again to the same radial line on the 
inner circle. Then line from these two end marks. 

To Make a Fumigating Tube. — There are many remedies offered 
for lambs infested with ticks, and one of the most effective is a fumigating tube 
used with tobacco. A tube may be cheaply constructed of tin or wood that 
will answer every purpose. One end should be pointed. A hole the size of a 
straw is large enough for the smoke to escape through. Fill the large part 
nearly full of tobacco, light it, then blow the smoke into the wool with a hand 
bellows, keeping the point of the tube near the skin. Go over the whole fleece, 
blowing in smoke once in six or eight inches, closing up the wool as soon as the 
tube is removed, so that the smoke may be retained. 



496 RURAL MISCELLANY. 

Pitchfork Handles. — Never try to make these if there is any opportu- 
nity to buy them, for the labor will not pay. In making or selecting a fork 
handle, have the heaviest part about one-third the distance from the tines to the 
end, as this is the point where the greatest strength is needed. Hoe handles 
should be just a trifle the largest a little above the center or at the point where 
the right hand comes. Second growth white ash is the best material for fork, 
rake and hoe handles. 

The Push Rake. — The push rake will be found a very handy implement 
about the barn, door yard, etc., and especially at the stable. The illustration, 
will suggest its proportions. The head should be of hard wood, about six inches 




HOME MADE PUSH RAKE. 

wide and twenty or more long. The handle may be made by dividing into 
three parts with a band two feet above the head, or with a straight handle and 
iron rod braces. The split handle is stiffest and best. 

Renovating^ Barren iSoil. — A piece of land once came into my pos- 
session that had been under the plow for twenty years and was considered 
worthless ; weeds would not grow upon it. This was plowed up in the fall 
about seven inches deep, and being heavy clay the work required four horses ; 
it lay in large lumps during the following winter, but through the action of the 
frost the most of them slaked down in the spring, when a good coat of long 
manure was put upon it and turned under. 

During the summer I gave it one or two gooa workings with the cultivator, 
and in August threw it up into ridges with a single horse plow, and about the 
2oth of September gave a sprinkling of manure from a sheep shed and sowed 
one bushel and a peck of red wheat per acre. From the piece I harvested 
thirty-two bushels per acre of clean, plump wheat. The piece was then stocked 
down and has since produced heavy crops of grass. 

How to Make a Oranary. — A grain grower says that for building a 
rat proof granary select the toughest white oak lumber you can find. Have it 
one inch thick and six inches wide. Take it to the mill and match it. (Did 
you ever see a rat hole through the joints of matched lumber ?) Have a good 
floor of hard oak lumber and board up on all sides with the same material. But 
before commencing this, tack a strip of tin about two inches wide to the floor 



RURAL MISCELLANY. 497 

next to the studs, letting it extend inward. When the first board has been 
firmly set upon this and fastened, the inner edge of the tin must be turned up 
and nailed to it. No chance for rats there, as some ten years' trial has proven. 
The bins should be partitioned off, the ceiling lathed and plastered, etc. 

Door Yard §lirub§. — One of the most noticeable defects in country and 
village door yards is a scarcity of good flowering shrubs and roses. If these 
occupied the place of the large trees now standing in small yards it would be a 
vtry great improvement. Shrubs are particularly suited for positions near to 
fences and walls, to relieve the stiffness of straight lines of wood and paint or 
to screen from view the back premises, etc. Dwarf growing evergreens are 
also appropriate for these purposes, and add much to the cheerfulness of the 
grounds in winter ; but many evergreens impart too somber an aspect in sum- 
mer. 

Use for Old Mowing Madiines. — A rural gentlemen tells how an 
old mowing machine may be converted into a horse power for running small 
machinery. Take off one driving wheel, and near the place of the article to be 
run, fix upon firm timbers the mowing machine with its remaining driving wheel 
uppermost. Upon this driving wheel a lever about ten feet long is fastened 
with bolts ; to this lever the horse is attached, and as he walks in a circle around 
the machine propels its gearing. The pole of the mowing machine, fastened 
by bolts to the same wheel that formerly gave the vibratory motion to the cutter 
bar, now extends horizontally along the ground, and on its end outside the 
circle of the horse's walk is placed a wheel upon which the rope belt runs, con- 
necting with a similar pulley on the end of the machinery to be run. 

Hoiv to ^tack Corn stalks. — The objection to storing corn stalks in 
round stacks is, that when the top of the stack is removed the fodder is exposed 
to the weather. To obviate this, build the stack narrow and long with square 
corners. Lay down rails in an extended straight line — as long as may be required 
by quantity of stalks — on blocks or stones that will elevate the rails twelve or 
sixteen inches above ground. It is well to lay down a few rails to keep the 
stalks from close contact with the ground. Then lay down two rows of bundles, 
butts out, and tops well lapped on to each other across the elevated rails. And 
thus lay course after course, and if the middle is likely to become flattened so 
as to incline the rains inward, lay a row of bundles lengthwise occasionally. 
■ In topping out the stack have it left quite oval ; then begin at one end with 
two bundles bound together near the tips, and straddled out so as to shed the 
rains off down the sides — and so proceed the entire length of the stack. In 
feeding begin at one end, taking down about six feet in a course at a time. By 
this method but little damage will accrue to the stalks from snow and rain. 

Mowing" Law^ns. — The chief requisite in the after care of a lawn or grass 
plat is to mow it frequently, so as to prevent the grass from ever going to seed, 
and as often as once in two or three years apply a dressing of well rotted ma- 



498 RURAL MISCELLANY. 

nure, or of ashes, or bone dust, early in spring. The practice of covering the 
surface with coarse stable manure, so common in villages, is offensive to good 
taste and not at all necessary. 

Field Tlirashing^ Buckwheat. — Where buckwheat must be thrashed 
by hand a floor may be prepared in the field by scraping and sweeping a piece 
of ground and laying down sheets, and lay over this a bed of rails an inch or 
two apart, raised from the ground sufficiently to make room for the grain when 
it is thrashed. On the rails throw the straw as it is brought, and thrash out the 
grain, which will fall through the openings between the rails. The straw can be 
removed and separated from the grain very quickly. When all is thrashed re- 
move the rails and the grain may be cleaned on the ground if desired without 
removing it to the barn. Buckwheat should be cleaned as soon as thrashed. 

Home Made Windmill. — It may be built by setting an upright post 
supporting an upright shaft having a hub on top carrying three horizontal arms,, 
to each of which are hinged light rectangular frames covered with heavy muslin 
or light canvas, regulated to swing in one direction only, from horizontal to per- 
pendicular. 

The sails are carried with the wind, at right angles to it, and return edgewise 
against the wind. The post may lean two feet at the top, so as to shorten the 
connection of the upper box with it. The lower bearing may be in a post set 
even with the ground, under the upper bearing. 

The pulley, four feet in diameter, secured near the bottom of the shaft, may 
have a smooth true groove for rope band burnt into its circumference by a 
crow bar, its one end resting in a hole in a post, the other in hand, while the 
middle in contact with the wheel is red hot. 

Platform for Drying Beans. — Lay blocks in parallel rows, ten feet 
apart each way. Lay stringers of rails one way and cross rails every few inches 
and spread the bean stalks or vines thereon. Air circulating above and beneath 
will dry them quickly, and rain will do no injury. 

Trees by a Residence. — Shade and ornamental trees are often set too 
close to the house. The limbs extend and chafe the windows and the paint, or 
if they are cut off, the symmetry of the tree is destroyed. Evergreens, almost 
without exception, are set too near the house, so that, after a few years' growth, 
their removal or destruction becomes necessary. 

Trees which cast their shadows upon the house cause dampness in the rooms 
and render them unhealthy. 

Decomposing^ Straw. — There are several methods adopted for decom- 
posing straw ; one, and in my opinion the most profitable, is to use it as a sta- 
ble feed and litter in winter time ; another is by scattering it in the furrow be- 
hind the plow, and covering it up ; a third by spreading it over the surface of a 
field in the spring and burning it. By this means the heat destroys the upstart- 
ing weeds and the ashes make a valuable fertilizer 



RURAL MISCELLANY. 499 

I do not believe the full value of the material can be obtained by burning, as 
most of the worn land needs loosening up as well as strengthening, and straw is 
one of the very best materials for this purpose. 

Mulchings with SaAvdiist. — What experience I have had with this ma- 
terial would not lead me to value it very highly, save as a mulch for certain 
vines, trees and bushes. As a fertilizer for the soil, I should much prefer com- 
posting swamp muck, woods loam, etc., with what manure can be saved from 
the barn. Sawdust or tanbark sours the soil, unless thoroughly decomposed, 
and a long time is required to bring about sufficient change to make it a food 
for vegetable life. 

Cutting Willows. — As to. killing willow and elm trees, a farmer writes 
that a few years ago he had a grove of morfe than one hundred willows that he 
was anxious to be rid of. To cut them down would not do ; he got by so doing 
ten to one. When the bark would peel freely, he went into the willow thicket with 
a sharp hatchet, cut the bark round the trees about four feet from the ground, 
stripped the bark downward to the ground, leaving it still attached to the trees. 
His willows all died during the summer, no sprouts springing up. He has 
treated white elms the same way with like success. 




CHEAP ROOT CUTTING BOX. 



Cheap Root Cutter. — Make a box with three sides of inch and a fourth 
plank, twelve or fifteen inches each waj, and three feet long. Fasten it in posi- 
tion handy to work at, on a platform or upon legs ; saw one end square and 
a.ttach a knife. The knife may be made from a piece of scythe, a hole in one 
end and a shank for handle at the other. The cutting part should be long 
enough to cross the box. Hang the knife even with top edge of bottom board, 
one end held by a screw bolt, the other working in a slot of wood or iron. 

Washing Wheat for Seed. — An experienced grain grower says: 
" Take a common wash tub about two-thirds full of water, and pour into it half 
a bushel of wheat, and after stirring with a stick, skim or pour off what rises on 
the water, taking care not to let the good grain run out ; then empty into a 
basket, or some vessel that will retain the wheat, and drain off the water ; put 
it on a clean floor and sift or sprinkle on to it about a peck of dry ashes, stirring 
it over thoroughly so as to cover all the grains with the ashes, and servang the 
v/hole quantity to be sown in the same way. 

" After it has lain a few hours it will be ready for sowing. It has proved a 




500 RURAL MISCELLANY. 

sure preventive in ever}- case of trial witli me, but when it has been omitted there 
has been plenty of smutty .^rain." 

Dooryard Deeoratioii. — No one can fail to see that a purchaser would 
give more for a farm where taste has been displayed around the house and out- 
buildings, than for one equal in acres, location, etc., where no attention has been 
paid to these things. But, aside from all pecuniar)' considerations many rea- 
sons are apparent to ever}* intelligent person why this work of house embellish- 
ment should be done. It renders home and whatever appertains to it attractive 
— suggestive of pleasurable thoughts, and a sanctuar}- of hallowed association ; 
this is an inducement sufficiently powerful to lead all thoughtful people to 
endeavor to render everv appearance in accordance with good taste. 

Irou Ooug^ for the Farm. — Take an inch and a quarter rod of iron 
and bend into the form of the accompanying diagram, and suspend it by 
the loop in the center. The length of each arm should be 
about four feet, and when struck with a hammer, will pro- 
duce a clear sound, easily heard a full mile, and with the 
wind nearly two miles. The ends are to be turned round into 
a circle of about four inches in diameter, and gradually 
brought to a point. A different number of blows will grive 
different signals to the husbandman. One series for dinner, 
FARM GONG. auother for visitors, another for fire or danger. The differ- 

ence between the sound of the blows produced by an iron hammer and wooden 
mallet may be noted especially to distinguish the emergency of the case — the 
sound produced by the wood being heard as far, but not nearly so shrill and sharp. 
Yeiitilatiiig' Atties. — Holes bored under the cornice, to communicate 
with the spaces between the rafters and over the ceilings, and then one or two 
small wooden ventilators on the roof, will be sufficient to insure a constant cur- 
rent of air over the entire upper story of the building. Also, small ventilating 
registers placed in the ceilings would — in connection with the others — insure 
the most thorough ventilation of the rooms. Of course, the holes in the cor- 
nice could be closed in winter. 

Keeping' Farm Aeeouuts. — There is no particular profit in keeping 
receipts and expenditures on the farm, for it does not increase them on the one 
hand or diminish them on the other ; the final result remains unchanged. There 
is, however, a plan of keeping accounts with the farm which even.- husbandman 
could make pay richly. 

If when any field is put to a certain crop the expense of labor, seed and har- 
\'esting are kept, and the value of the return, the farmer could determine 
whether there was a paying investment in the growing of that certain crop, and 
hy comparing field No. i. put to wheat, with field No. 2, which grew com, it 
could easily be determined which give the best returns, and so w-ith all other 
crops grown upon the farm. 



RURAL MISCELLANV. 5©! 

Any farmer who adopts this form of keepmg- accounts with his fields and 
stock, will find after the first year his ledger his safest guide — this I know from 
the practical experience of years — and he will give testimony in favor of the 
plan, after testing it, and of the utility of recording experiments. 

Cultivatiiig: Blackberries. — In the culture of blackberries, I have found 
it of advantage to omit stirring the soil after midsummer, so that the plants 
may make less growth in the latter part of the season and thereby be the better 
able to endure the winter. 

Fallacy in Farming. — In his report, the Commissioner of Agriculture 
says : " The greed for the acquisition of land is a serious bar to progress in 
farm improvement. The aim of the pioneer has been, not to become a good 
farmer, but a holder of broad acres — to grow more wheat, to buy more land. 
The result is a sparse settlement, poor roads, straw stables, few farm imple- 
ments, and a slow advance in prices of real estate after the first sudden rise in 
values. It is a dangerous fallacy that non-productive farm lands are profit- 
able." 

Keeping Fruit and Vegetables. — "It is a fact well known to the 
experienced horticulturist and pomologist, that fruit and vegetables stored on 
shelves in a room well ventilated with fresh air will keep fresh and sound much 
longer than when stored in barrels or cellars, w^hich is the ordinar)- practice ; 
the barrel mode of preservation is only suitable for small families, not for the 
orchardists who produce hundreds and thousands of bushels in a single season. 

"Fruit so kept acjuires a rind of wilt, which makes it much more valuable 
for shipping or marketing purposes, especially if held late in the spring, at which 
time nice, large, smooth fruit frequently commands quite satisfactor\' and pav- 
ing prices. It fails to melt down or rot when exposed for sale, like that kept 
in barrels or cellars." 

I^uinac for Tauuing. — " Sumac alone is not adapted to the tanning of 
sole or upper leather, on account of its highly astringent properties and its ten- 
dency to sour quickly, the heavier leather requiring a more moderate agent for 
its preparation ; but it may be used in connection with either oak or hemlock 
bark, and is employed in that manner by tanners. 

" It must be dried for use. In a green state it sours too quickly. A full month 
is necessan.- to properly cure it under cover. It should not be thrown on a tight 
floor ; let the air circulate under it. Throwing over occasionally with a pitch- 
fork improves it. 

"In using sumac for making fair or light colored leather, allow about a 
pound of leaf sumac to a side of leather, but this depends on the strength of the 
article, and of northern grown sumac more should be used. Handle in this a 
day or two and then go through the regular process of tanning with bark, and 
the result will be a soft, prett}' leather." 

Doing Fp Wool. — Provide a table large enough to hold a fleece of wool 



502 RURAL MISCELLANY. 

when it is spread out to full breadth. Lay the fleece upon the table outside up ; 
trim off all the dirty tags and fold in the sides, then turn in the ends. As it lies 
now in a square form, all bits of clean wool or washed tags may be added ; then 
the fleece folded until about ten inches wide, then rolled from one end to the 
other firmly, but not so tight as to cause the fleece to separate. Now, holding 
the fleece securely, tie with wool twine in a workmanlike manner, putting on no 
more string than is necessary to hold the fleece in good shape. 

A box is used by many. An ordinary eight by ten glass box answers a 
very good purpose, but one made of light wood boards, smoothly planed, is bet- 
ter. After the box has been prepared — open at two sides — saw two kerfs on 
edge of longest side an inch or so deep, two or three inches from ends, then 
one in center of the two other sides. These are for the purpose of holding the 
twine. Cut the twine into proper lengths and have them hang at edge of table. 
After supplying the box, roll the fleece as before directed, and crowd it in and 
tie, then push it through. The fleece should be put into the box so that the 
two twines will wrap the way the fleece is rolled. 

Quantity for a Car Load. — Often people are anxious to know what 
constitutes a car load, and I annex the following for the benefit of any who may 
desire the knowledge. The figures may not exactly suit everywhere, but 
approximate so closely to a general average that shippers will find them a great 
convenience as reference : 

As a general rule, 20,000 pounds or 70 barrels of salt, 70 of lime, 90 of flour, 
160 of whisky, 200 sacks of flour, 6 cords of hard wood, 7 cords of soft wood, 18 
to 20 head of cattle, 50 to 60 head of hogs, 80 to 100 head of sheep, 9,000 feet 
■of solid boards, 17,000 feet of siding, 13,000 feet of flooring, 40,000 shingles, 
one-half less of hard lumber, one-fourth less green lumber, one-tenth less joists, 
scantling, and all other large timber, 340 bushels of wheat, 360 of corn, 680 of 
oats, 400 of barley, 360 of flax seed, 360 of apples, 330 of Irish potatoes, 356 of 
sweet potatoes, 1,000 bushels of bran. 

HoAV to Make a Dowel. — In doweUng, one of the pieces of wood to 
be joined to the other has a pin of wood or iron inserted in the end at a re- 
quired distance, according to the timber, and the other stick has a correspond- 
ing hole drilled in its end to receive the pin. Before boring the dowel hole, 
use a gauge upon the two face sides of the sticks. Bore the holes where the 
lines cross, and put a pin firmly into one of these, then drive the work together. 

Oatliering^ T¥oods Dirt. — When going to work with wagon near the 
wood lot, take along a shovel and carry home at noon and at night a load of 
forest loam, or else set apart a day and devote it entirely to the purpose of col- 
lecting. Woods dirt is one of the very best mulches that can be used ; it is one 
•of the best absorbents for the stable, and as a loosener and fertilizer for soil it can- 
not be excelled. It is good upon any and all kinds of soil and as cheap as the air. 

Leaves and loam form an excellent material for house banking and for cover- 



RURAL MISCELLANY. 



503 



ing vegetables buried in the fields or garden. Nature has designed the fallen 
leaves as a shield to the tree roots against the frost ; a thin coating being almost 
impervious to that element. They are, therefore, exactly fitted for the use above 
mentioned. No better manure can be used upon the garden, as it will make 
the soil light, airy and at the same time give it the primitive qualities of fertility. 

Ho'W to Kill Cropliers, — These ground squirrels are very troublesome 
•on the prairie lands, and a Western paper says the best way to dispose of them 
is to take a potato, and cut it into about an inch or less square, and put a few 
grains of strychnine, say as much as half a pin's head in bulk, upon each piece 
and rub it in with a knife ; dig down and deposit these in their trenches, and 
cover over again, and you will probably not hear from the gophers. 

Cbeap Corn Marker. — Take a scantling or light, straight pole, twelve 
feet long, and put into the same four teeth, inclining backward, a pair of poles or 
sawed thills, and a handle made by bending a green hickory stick over, as 
shown in the engraving. Put in the thills three feet apart at the scanthng and 
twenty-two inches apart at the small ends. A cross piece may be bolted on a 




CHEAP AND HANDY CORN MARKER. 



few inches front of the scantling and the whippletree rest upon that, 01 the 
whippletree maybe attached to the scantling at the center of the space between 
the thills, by means of a trace chain, or no whippletree used at all. The tugs 
may be hitched to a hook driven into the scantling near the thills. I much pre- 
fer the whippletree, as it gives play to the harness and prevents jerking and 
chafing. 

After framing in the thills, elevate the scantling twenty inches or two teet. 



504 RURAL MISCELLANY, 

and support it there. Elevate the ends of the thills to about the height they 
will be when supported by the harness, and then get the backward pitch for the 
teeth. Put a tooth six inches from each end, and the other two three feet eight 
inches apart. This will bring all the teeth that distance apart if the scantling 
is just twelve feet long. Instead of the bent handle, two old plow handles may 
be put in, or two upright sticks with a cross stick. 

In putting in the handle, be careful and not get it too high, for it should be 
low to lift the implement easily when at the ends of the corn rows. The lifting 
of this marker is where the advantage will be found in its use. When sleds or 
runner markers are employed, it is a difficult thing to turn and set them for a 
return trip across the field. When the runner marker gets out of place it is 
difficult also to adjust it, while the to'oth marker may be gradually varied by side 
pressure, or quickly adjusted by lifting it bodily up. 

The "Wheel Corn Marker. — A wheel corn cultivator may be recon- 
structed so as to make a good marker. Attach two shovels to it three feet 
eight inches apart — eight inch shovels — which will make a good mark for a 
horse to walk in. In that way one can ride all day and mark out from ten ta 
twelve acres. 

To Prepare Broom Corn Seed. — To prepare broom corn seed ready 
for the planter, take a small punch that will make a hole a trifle larger than the 
largest broom corn seed, and with it punch a six quart pan full of holes, from 
the upper side ; put the seed in this, and rub or grind it through with a piece 
of inch board about four inches square. With this simple arrangement, seed 
enough may be prepared for one hundred acres in a short time. 

To Hake Charcoal. — Charcoal can be obtained by burning wood in a 
conical pile, covered with earth so that the combustion shall be slow, owing to 
the small quantity of oxygen admitted. If wood is burned in the open air, only 
ashes are the result. 

Preparing Vineyard Land. — Vineyard ground needs no other prep- 
aration than a deep .plowing. If the land is in sod, all the better, for in 
August, just when the growing vines demand the most of moist food, that 
sod will, as it decomposes, furnish what is wanted. Speaking generally, if a 
soil needs trenching, it is not suitable for profitable grape culture. 

Brushing in Clover Seed.— An agriculturist says : " Sow your clover 
seed with spring barley or oats (the former is better) immediately after harrow- 
ing the last time, which should be thoroughly done, to have the ground well 
pulverized. Instead of the harrow, which will cover the seed too deep, cut a 
large round brush (honey locust is good), lop the inside limbs to make all bear 
alike on the ground, and brush your clover seed in the same as you would har- 
row your barley or oats. 

" A quantity of seed sown in this way on nine or ten acres of ground will 
make your clover thicker than the same quantity of seven or eight acres of wheat 



RURAL MISCELLANY. 50$; 

ground left exposed to the drought, and to the chances of falling into the cracks, 
into which half of it never finds a resting place." 

How to Kill Burdock. — Some one who has been afflicted with this 
troublesome plant, says he kills it by cutting off the roots a few inches under the 
ground with a spade, and then throwing in the hole a handful of salt or quick- 
lime. The time he chooses to kill them is after the flower buds appear on the 
stalks. Simply severing the roots would probably kill them, but he wanted to 
make sure work. 

Plo^ving out Corn. — It is almost fatal to a corn field to neglect thorough 
culture in its first stages of growth. One day's work in a field when weeds have 
just begun to make their appearance, is worth more to the crop than three after 
they have become thoroughly rooted. Besides, success very much depends 
upon the first start of the crop ; any plant checked in its early growth will never 
recover. If corn is kept clean, and the ground loose during the first four 
weeks of its growth, a greater yield will be obtained than through working it 
twice that time at a later period. 

Peat for Ice Houses. — It is said that one of the best materials for ice 
houses is peat ; but the genuine moss peat must be employed, which should be 
cut in pieces fourteen inches long and five to six inches wide and thick. When 
it is thoroughly dried it proves to be a poor conductor of heat, and when laid 
up around ice houses above the ground, is preferred by many persons to saw- 
dust, tan bark and the like. 

Cheap Fruit Picker. — For picking off small trees that cannot be climbed 
or reached by a step ladder, a cheap and efficient picker can be made by cut- 
ting a circular bottom ten inches in diameter out of an inch board. Bore half 
inch holes one and one-half inches apart, and three-fourths of an inch from the 
edge around it. In the holes put flat pointed pins eight or ten inches long and 
mount upon a handle of sufficient length, at an angle of thirty degrees, to reach 
up and pick or let down the apples without spilling. By passing it under the 
apples and upward so the teeth will pass over the stem, a gentle rub onward 
will take the apple off as safely as if done with the hand. 

To Prepare Osag^e Orange Seed. — A farmer who has had twenty 
years' experience in hedge growing says : " Soak the seed two weeks, and if the 
weather should be unfavorable for planting, the seed will not be injured by re- 
maining a few days longer in the water. I have known seeds that had been 
thus soaked to come up after having lain in the ground one year ; a good crop 
having been produced the first year, a few plants would make their appearance 
the next spring. 

" This discovery induced me to put some ashes in the water in which the seed 
is soaked. The result was about twice as many plants as had been produced 
from the same amount of seed without ashes. I put about four tablespoonfuls 
of ashes to one gallon of water. 



^o6 RURAL MISCELLANY. 

" It is difficult to say how thick the seed should be scattered in the row, be- 
cause you do not know what proportion of the seed will grow. I would sow at 
least twenty-four seeds to the foot in length of row. I never planted seed that 
■came up too thick ; they will bear to stand quite close together." 

IVateriMg Crardeii Plants. — Watering garden plants, as commonly 
practiced, is an absolute injury to vegetation, for the reason that it is not done 
plentifully enough. When the earth is dry and hot, the application of a little 
water only increases the heat, and has a tendency to make the soil more com- 
pressed and drier than before. The most of our soils are more or less calcare- 
ous, and the action of the sun's heat has the same effect as heat upon lime- 
stone ; the carbonic acid is expelled, and when brought in contact with moisture, 
heat is generated, and unless sufficient water is applied to overcome the heat, 
vegetation suffers. 

A sprinkling pot should never be used in time of drought, unless the soil 
around the roots of the plants is at the same time thoroughly soaked, and the 
watering should always take place after sunset, when the dew has begun to fall. 
This is in accordance with natural laws. Rain and sunshine seldom appear 
together , and further, when nature waters vegetation, the atmosphere is filled 
with moisture. 

Pool water and soap suds are good for the garden, and cistern water may be 
used, but should be exposed to the sun and air through the day before apply- 
ing. Strong liquid from the barn-yard is death to garden plants, and should 
only be used after diluting until very weak. 

My plan of watering to avoid making a hard surface crust around the plants, 
is to dig three or four holes on the different sides of the hill, a few inches away, 
and into these pour not less than one pailful of water, and after all has soaked 
in, replace the dry earth, and then with watering pot sprinkle the tops. 

I have many times carried cucumber and other vines through severe 
•drought, and received a bountiful yield from them. 

Ho^v to Use Windfall Apples. — Windfall apples should be care- 
fully gathered and fed out. They are not valuable for cider, or very profitable 
in a raw state as swine feed unless sweet. If sour apples are boiled and mixed 
v\^ith whey, sour milk or table slops and have a liberal supply of corn meal 
added, a good starting feed for fattening hogs is made. One of the profits derived 
from getting rid of windfalls is the destruction of myriads of apple worms 
that would otherwise undergo transformation and appear to destroy the crop 
■oi next season. 

Hoeing' Potatoes. — One of the secrets of success in potato growing is 
in giving them a hoeing at the proper stage of growth ; one hilling is sufficient, 
and this should be given when the vines are about six inches high. Previous 
to this use the cultivator freely — keep the earth loose on the surface and free 
from weeds. When at the stage of growth mentioned, give a good hilling. 



RURAL MISCELLANY. 507 

"making the mound broad and flat on top and a little cupping ; after this, do no 
more than to cut out weeds. The hoeing is best done soon after a rain. 

Some advocate flat culture and others two hillings, but I have never suc- 
ceeded with either of those plans, nor do the most successful potato growers 
advocate them. Two hillings will make two settings, and result in a large 
number of small potatoes at harvest time. Flat culture may do on a deep 
loamy soil, where the roots can ramify and form tubers readily, but a clay soil 
iiiiling m the old fashioned way is the one most certain to make good returns. 

Application of Hen Power. — A farmer writes that he utilizes the 
natural tendency of his hens to scratch by letting them do the work in his gar- 
den. He makes long, narrow cages, just wide enough to fit between his garden 
TOWS of vegetables, etc.; has slat sides, board tops, and open bottoms. In these 
•cages he puts his best dirt throwers and lets them hoe out the patch. When 
the ground is well torn up, he moves the cage along, and in this way keeps the 
-earth mellow and the garden free from insects. 

To Poison MeadoAV Moles. — Get a small amount of arsenic ; put it 
fn an old tin can with some water, and then put in some corn. Let the corn 
soak until morning. Now take the corn, and make little holes through into 
the moles' burrowed roads, and dropping the corn through, cover up the holes 
lightly. Do this and you may depend upon it that Mr. Mole wfll not come 
round many times more. 

Heading Peach. Trees.— The peach fruit is borne only on the shoots 
of the previous season's growth, and unless the production of young shoots is 
secured by the healthy growth of the tree, good fruit cannot be expected. In 
order to secure a more plentiful growth of young wood, it may be advisable to 
cut off occasionally a portion of the tops of peach trees of bearing age, espe- 
cially when their growth seems to be checked, and after bearing a full crop of 
fruit. This is called " heading them off," and consists of cutting off all the 
limbs or branches at from one-third to one-half of the length, thus removing 
one-half or more of the tops. This will cause them to throw out nev/ shoots 
and form new heads, with better foliage and finer fruit — especially if in the 
spring a dressing of ashes or manure is applied to the land, and fair culture 
bestowed. 

Pruning of peach trees is usually deferred until spring, so as to give oppor- 
tunity to observe the effect of the winter upon the fruit buds, as severer pruning 
is given when there is little or no prospect of fruit. 

To Propagate the Quince. — Take cuttings from good stout scions. 
They will grow as readily as a grape cutting ; set them in boxes filled half full 
■with rich soil, and half with wet sand, plant the cuttings in the sand and they 
will quickly strike root. Cuttings can be planted along the margin of a hot 
6ed, or even in the open ground. 

HoAV to Produce Stoneless Fruit. — At a meeting of the Agricul- 



5o8 RURAL MISCELLANY. 

tural Society in India, the Rev. Mr. Firminger communicated a plan by which 
the stones of fruit may be reduced or made to disappear, and the pulp increased 
in size and flavor. At any time during the cold season select a branch that is 
to be used afterward for inarching. Split it up carefully somewhat less than 
a span long. From both halves of the branch thus split, scoop out cleanly all 
the pith ; then bring the split halves together again and keep them bandaged 
till they have become thoroughly united. 

At the usual time, the beginning of the rains, inarch the branch thus treated 
upon suitable stock, taking for the place of union the portion of the branch just 
below where the split was made. Upon a branch of the tree thus produced a 
similar operation is performed, and so on for successive seasons, the result 
being that the stone of the fruit becomes less and less after each successive 
operation. This process has been applied likewise to the grape-vine at Malaga,, 
and plants thereby have been produced which bear the finest fruit, without the 
slightest vestige of a seed within them. 

Peach Trees from Pits. — It is useless to attempt to reproduce an 
excellent and desirable variety of budded peach fruit by planting the pits of the 
same. The Early York or Crawford peach stones are as likely to produce 
worthless fruit, or clingstone, as any other. Occasionally the fruit will have 
characteristics of the parent pit, but it cannot be depended upon. 

Happing Crrain Fields. — It is very seldom that a cultivated field is 
found so even in its fertility over the whole surface that it is equally productive 
on every square rod, and it is a rare thing indeed to find a meadow where every 
section produces the same amount of hay annually ; and it is for the purpose of 
equalizing this, or, in other words, bringing the poorest parts up to a condition of 
the best, that I suggest mapping each field. 

There is no time that the correct observations can be taken as to the produc- 
tiveness of fields so well as when there are growing crops upon them. By going 
over the wheat field at this time, the poor spots may be very readily marked 
out so that improvements may be made when the crop has been removed. If 
the grain has been winter killed on a certain portion and not on another, some 
cause may be assigned, and that cause remedied in future. 

To Sreak Up a {Sittings Hen. — Take the hen and shut her up ; after 
a few days she will forget her desire to sit, and commence laying again. Some 
times dipping fowls into water will prevent their returning to the nest, but where 
they are persistent the cooping plan is the quickest, and makes the least trouble. 
The coop should be large and airy and the fowls supplied with plenty of appro- 
priate food. 

Husking Corn in the Field.— It is a much better plan to set a wagon 
in the field when husking, and when filled going to the crib with it, than ta 
throw the corn upon the ground to be gathered up afterward, for two reasons : 
First, one half of the handling is saved, and second, the corn is not exposed to. 



RURAL MISCELLANY. 



509 



damage by bein^; left out in the field through a storm, which is very commonly 
done by miscalculation when not drawn and cribbed as fast as husked. 

Test for €rOOd Farming. — Horace Greeley once said that the fairest 
single test of good farming is the increasing productiveness of the soil. " That 
iarm which averaged twenty bushels of grain to the acre twenty years ago, 
twenty-five bushels ten years ago, and will measure up thirty bushels to the 
acre from this year's crop, has been and is in good hands. I know no other 
touchstone of farming so unerring as that of the increase or decrease from year 
to year of its aggregate product. 

" If you would convince me that X is a good farmer, do not tell me of some 
great crop he has grown, but show me that his crop has regularly increased 
from year to year, and I am satisfied. Keep your eyes on the farmer who 
almost uniformly has great grass, good wheat, heavy corn, etc., and unless he 
drinks, or has some other bad habit, you will find him growing rich." 

To Make a Orape Box.— A very good way to keep grapes in small 
quantities is to hang them in not over large boxes. One may use the common 
soda cracker boxes, such as can be obtained at any grocery store. Nail a cleat 
on two sides near the cover, then if the grapes are cut with vine wood, put 
double cleats between, as represented in engraving ; if not, put cross cleats, six 
inches apart, and hang the clusters to them by use of strings. 




CHEAP BOX FOR KEEPING GRAPES. 



The advantage in this method is in being able to change the fruit from one 
room to another without handling ; also, to keep the grapes from coming m 
contact with each other and molding ; and still further, defective fruit may be 
picked off at any time without handling the clusters. 

Hoops for Crrape Keeping. — A very simple device for keeping grapes 
is made of common barrel hoops. Suspend three strong cords or small ropes 
to a single staple in the upper wall of the fruit room, then spread them and 
attach the hoops, one foot or less apart, one above another, horizontally, the 
ropes at points equal distances apart. When the rack is completed, bunches 
of grapes may bej hung to the hoops and looked over at will. It is better to 



5IO RURAL MISCELLANY. 

have hoops of a little difference in size, if convenient, as it brings the ropes inta 
a natural position and allows the hoops to be a little nearer together. 

To Pack Orapes for Market. — Pick when dry. Cut the stems with 
a sharp, hooked knife ; pick off all defective grapes, then pack in boxes, light 
and strong, a foot by a foot and a half in size, five inches deep. Such a box 
will hold about twenty pounds if properly packed. " Set the box on a table of 
convenient height, having the back end of the box elevated three or four inches 
by placing something under it," says a vineyardist ; " then commence at the end 
next to you and lay the bunches in carefully, pressing them together gently, but 
not hard enough to break the berries. 

" When the bottom of the box is covered one layer deep, commence at the 
front again, put in a second layer, placing the larger bunches in the low places 
and the smaller bunches on the high places, thus keeping them as level as pos- 
sible ; proceed in this manner until the box is full, being careful to have the box 
as level as possible when done. Cutting bunches to fill up cavities is not a good 
practice, as large bunches sell best. 

" The boxes thus filled should be allowed to stand until the stems of the 
grapes are wilted and become pliable, which will take from six to twenty-four 
hours ; then take a board and cover the box, placing one hand under the box 
and the other on the cover ; then set the box on end, holding the cover securely 
in its place with one hand, then shake or jostle the grapes until they settle com- 
pactly together, which is easily accomplished after the stems are wilted ; this 
will cause a cavity at the upper end of the box, which should be carefully filled 
with grapes that have had stems wilted, in order that they may pack closely. 

" Great care should be taken to avoid rubbing the bloom off the grapes, as it 
injures their appearance, and it is thought they will not keep so well. Care 
should also be taken to hide the stems of the last layer and have the stems look 
even or level on the top. Grapes should not be allowed to stand in the sun- 
shine after they are gathered." 

Baskets for Orape Keeping^. — My plan has been to pick the fruit 
carefully, when ripe and dry, into shallow baskets or boxes, and put them in a 
well ventilated loft or chamber for two or three weeks to let some of the moist- 
ure evaporate, then lift the bunches by the stems and pick off any defective ber- 
ries, and pack in shallow boxes or drawers, only two layers in each, with a layer 
of cotton batting between and on the top. Dry sawdust will answer as well as 
cotton, but it is more difficult to remove entirely from the fruit. Then keep in 
a cool chamber until danger of freezing, and afterward in a dry cellar. 

Cobs as Stock Feed. — If corn is not thoroughly dried there is some 
nutriment in the cobs, and they may be fed perhaps with some little profit ; but 
when the corn is thoroughly dried, most of the nutritious matter has been taken 
up by the grain, and, in my opinion, the cobs then are about as valuable for 
feeding as sawdust. 



RURAL MISCELLANY. 5ir 

Bfon-Productive Soil. — Soil that is commonly called barren has not lost 
its elements of fertility to that extent most people suppose. Its non-productive- 
ness is owing, in part, to compression ; if lightened up, so that the atmosphere 
can circulate freely through it, a fair crop will, in most cases, be realized. Clo- 
ver, as a loosener, is excellent. 

Liumber for the Farmer. — Loose lumber is always needed about the 
farm ; almost daily a board is wanted to make repairs on buildings, fences, etc., 
and no one can obtain this material cheaper than the farmer. At nearly all of 
the mills, the proprietors are willing to saw logs for one-half the lumber, so take 
two and bring home the products of one, if money cannot be afforded to pay 
the saw bills. 

Ventilator for a Hay Mow. — To make a ventilator in a hay mow pre- 
pare a square box about five or six feet long, and sixteen or eighteen inches 
square, of thin boards, and place it where a flue is to be made in a mow, and 
draw it up as the mow is built. The top of the ventilator should be left open. 
The tube may be kept from dropping into the flue by nailing on a piece of 
board near the bottom, when mow is done. Then pile hay around tube until it 
will stand alone. By this means an efficient ventilator will be formed. 

By thus letting cool air into the middle of a mow or stack, hay that would 
otherwise " mow-burn " will be kept cool and will save well. A barrel is some- 
times employed for making a ventilating flue. The barrel must be drawn up a 
few inches at a time as the hay is stored around it. 

Protecting Trees From Animals. — Drive four stakes about a foot 
distant from the tree. Saw off to equal heights and nail on cleats,, forming a 
square to hold the stakes firmly at the top, then put hoops of wire around the 
stakes eight or ten inches apart. The wire need not be large, and may be 
twisted tight, or held in place by cutting small notches in the stakes. The ex- 
pense is but a trifle. 

How Barns are Burned. — Oily rags and cotton waste for wiping ma- 
chinery are common causes of spontaneous combustion. Oil spilt on dry saw- 
dust has been known to take fire in this way. Oils that oxidize readily, like cot- 
ton seed oil, are especially liable to take fire without apparent cause. Hay, cot- 
ton, tow, flax, hemp, rags, leaves, spent tow, straw in manure heaps, all are 
liable to take fire spontaneously when stacked in quantities in a damp state. 
These are facts which every one should understand, as the knowledge of them 
may, in many instances, lead to precautions of the utmost importance and 
saving of valuable property. 

Old rags used for wiping off machine grease, or those saturated with oil 
when doctoring some sick animal, should never be thrown down carelessly when 
the work is finished, or tucked in any box or tight place. Hang them up where 
air will circulate about them freely, else throw them out of doors or burn 
them. 



'512 RURAL MISCELLANY. 

Weigliiiig Corn, — In selling corn in the ear, the weight allowed for a 
bushel of shelled corn varies considerably — ranging from sixty-eight to seventy- 
two pounds ; the latter when the corn is not well dried ; the former for good 
corn late in the season. Test lots selected showed a v/eight of a little less than 
twelve and a half pounds of cobs for each bushel of shelled corn ; or sixty- 
eight and one-half pounds in the ear would give fifty-six pounds of shelled 
corn. 

i^craping^ a Barn Yard. — At midsummer, or at any time when the earth 
is dry and hard, is a good time to scrape the barn yard. Where cows are yarded 
during the night, or even at milking time, there will be considerable of an accu- 
mulation of droppings, and in summer but little can be trod into the earth. By 
the use of a road scraper a large quantity of manure can be saved from a yard 
where a good sized dairy is kept, and enough to doubly pay for the trouble and 
«xtra labor where very few are yarded. 

A small yard may be scraped with a common barn shovel, but under ordinary 
circumstances it will pay to procure a one or two horse road scraper. The work 
can be the most effectually done immediately after a good rain, when the sur- 
face is well moistened, but should not be attempted when the ground is wet and 
soft. Many loads of excellent fertilizing material are trod into the earth every 
season and lost by simply neglecting to scrape the barn yard. 

Manure Mallet. — Upon a handle of hard wood, t\^o feet eight or three 
feet long, put a head made of a piece of four inch round pole, cut as illustrated. 



■4 



MANURE MALLET. 

With the sharp end droppings upon a meadow can be loosened up, and by a 
blow from square end scattered in particles over the ground. 

Door Catch. — A piece of board some five inches long, two and a half 
wide, cut as illustrated and screwed loosely upon a barn or house floor, where 



FLOOR DOOR CATCH. 

•no carpet is used, makes a good fastener to keep a door open. Place the 
catch where the door is to be held, and then work it by a touch of the 
foot. 

Cutting^ Back Raspberry Buslies. — In planting raspberries they 
should be cut down nearly to the ground when planted. You lose the crop, of 
■course, but you get good strong canes for next year. If you leave the cane 



RURAL MISCELLANY. 513 

long enough to bear, it will probably be the only crop you will ever get from 
them. Never expect anything to bear the year after transplanting. It is gen- 
erally at the expense of the future health of the tree. 

Tomatoes from Cuttings.— Elliott says to produce earhest ripening 
tomatoes, just before frost take cuttings from the old plants and keep them in 
sand, or in sharp, sandy soil during the winter in a cool, dry cellar. The cut- 
tings should be made from the base of the old plants just above the main roots, 
taking at the base end of each cutting about four inches of the stem, from which 
new fibers as rootlets have started, and then making the cutting so that it will 
have two or more leaf buds above the rooted end. 

Usually the cutting will be about ten or twelve inches long. It should, as 
soon as taken off from the main or old plant, have its fibrous end at once 
planted in a pot or box of sand, or sharp, sandy loam, given a good watering 
and then set away in a cool place, say in a dry cellar or under the stage of a 
greenhouse. These cuttings started into growth in the latter end of February, 
by placing them in the south windows of a warmly kept living room, or placed 
on the shelves of the greenhouse or in a hot-bed frame, will give fruit two to three 
weeks earlier than the best plants that can possibly be grown from the seed. 

A Simple Weather Olass. — The Journal of Applied Chetnistry gives 
the following on making a simple barometer : 

Take a glass tube about ten inches in length and one inch in diameter, fill it 
nearly up to the top with the following liquid : Two parts camphor, one part 
nitrate of potash, and one part sal ammonia, dissolved in strong spirit of wine ; 
then add water until you have partially precipitated the camphor. The extrem- 
ity of the tube can be left open or hermetically closed. The glass tube thus 
prepared is then fixed in a horizontal position against the wall or a board. 

The changes in the weather are thus indicated : 

1st. If the weather is to be fine, the composition of the substances will re- 
main entirely at the bottom part of the tube, and the above liquid will be perfectly 
clear and transparent. 

2d. Before the weather changes to become rainy the precipitate will rise by 
degrees, and moving crystallizations, similiar in shape to stars, will be seen. 

3d. When a storm is imminent, the precipitate will nearly all rise to the top of 
the tube, assuming the shape of the leaf, or an assemblage of crystals ; the 
liquid will appear to be in a state of effervescence. This change very often 
takes place twenty-four hours before the change in the weather. 

4th. The side from which the wind will blow in a squall will be also indicated 
through the direction and the elevation of the crystallization in the tube, the 
crystallization always forming on the side from which the wind will blow. 

5th, In the winter season the crystallization will maintain itself higher in the 
tube; snowy and freezing weather are also indicated by the particles of the 
substance floating in the liquid and assuming the shape of long, hairy needles. 



514 RURAL MISCELLANY. 

6th. In summer time, the weather being dry and warm, the crystallizations 
will have a tendency to remain lower in the tube, and the liquid will also be- 
more transparent. 

The amount of crystallized particles which will be seen floating in the liquid^ 
as a sure indication of fine or bad weather, will depend entirely on the sudden- 
ness of the change in the weather which is to take place, acting in the most en- 
ergetic way on the composition above described. 

The value of this simple instrument to forewarn of an impending storm, and 
also to indicate the continuance of fine weather, will be readily appreciated by^ 
those whose occupations are affected by the changes in the weather. See 
Home Made Barometers, page 235. 

Press for a Barrel. — There are two cheap ways of making a heavy 
pressure upon the contents of a barrel. One is to set the barrel beneath a sill 
or sleeper in the cellar, then have a piece of scantling extend from the follower 
up to the sill, and get downward pressure by wedging at the top from opposite 
directions. The second and better way, is to put a staple in the floor, attach a 
chain to this, then set the barrel near the staple, lay a long scanthng across the 
barrel so that one end is over the staple, and attach the chain. Block up on the 
barrel follower, and a heavy pressure may be obtained by weighting the long 
end of the scantling. 

To Make an Ice Chisel. — 'An ice chisel is a handy implement, very 
frequently, for winter fishermen, and may be easily made by knocking the handle 
off a two inch chisel and putting on a hoe handle with ferrule upon the end. 

To Imitate Japan IVork Boxes. — Dissolve white beeswax in spirits 
of turpentine until it is of the thickness of copal varnish. This may be kept in 
a bottle until you are ready to begin the work, when you may pour out a small 
quantity and mix into it a little flake-white sufficient to give it a body. Now, 
with a fine sable pencil trace accurately the design on the white wood, which 
has first been made very smooth and clean, and go over every part of the pat- 
tern, leaving only the groundwork untouched. 

When this is thoroughly dry, dress over the whole surface with prepared 
ivory black paint. It may be obtained in small cans at any paint store for a 
few cents. Let the whole get thoroughly dry, and if it is not well covered, give 
it another coat. When this is dry, let the whole work be brushed with a bristle 
brush dipped in spirits of turpentine, and rubbed pretty hard, until the parts 
covered with the white mixture are left bare. The designs first traced will now 
become visible, with sharp, clear outlines marked on the black ground, and will 
look very handsome. It must then be varnished with white varnish, and rubbed 
down with pumice powder until very smooth. If one prefers, the ground part 
may be made of a coral color, by using red sealing wax dissolved in alcohol. 
The expense of this work is a mere trifle, and anyone can do it who can trace the 
design. As an aid to this work, see " How to Copy a Scroll," page 155. 



The Handy Housewife 



Every lady is endowed with something of a mechanical gift, and no one is so 
entirely devoid of it, but what by the exercise and development of that which is 
possessed, very material comfort may be added to home life. I do not suggest 
that the coarser parts of mechanical work be attempted, but that the genius 
possessed be exercised to the enhancement of beauty and domestic enjoyment. 
By many, the important principles in the mechanical construction of different 
things in use are overlooked, and these faults are manifested in the household, 
and though seemingly small, are nevertheless of great importance, inasmuch as 
they are woven into the very web of domestic life, and have an etfect upon the 
habits and characters of the younger members of the family which will not be 
easily eradicated. 

Whatever is closely associated with every day life has a marked, and, I may say, 
a wonderful influence upon the mind. A looseness of habits has an immoral 
effect, while order, neatness and perfectness in all avocations soften and refine 
the feeling, elevate the mind and cultivate a taste for perfect work in all 
things. 

In very many houses may be found articles of furniture that have stood for 
years looking dingy and rough. They have been and are now allowed to re- 
main in that unsightly condition, because the good housewife does not know that 
it is in her power to beautify them, and the husbandman avers that he has other 
things, and those of more importance, to attend to. A housekeeper is naturally 
just as proud of the appearance of her rooms as a man of his horse and car- 
riage, and she would gladly fix them up, or have the work done by some member 
of the household, if the modus operandi were understood. Where people are 
wealthy, they can send their damaged articles away for renewing, but those in 
moderate or cramped circumstances shrink from the expense. 

To make a home pleasant and attractive, a great outlay of money is not nec- 
essary. I have seen many a country house made more inviting by the deft fin- 
gers of the lady occupants, than many city parlors and drawing rooms, where 
thousands of dollars have been expended in dark, heavy articles, to be envel- 
oped in the shadowy gloom of an illy lighted room. Gold would be no more 
valuable than brass if it were as plenty ; and so many of the expensive articles 
of ornamentation have their value in scarcity, instead of absolute beauty. 

There are a great many articles that may be made or reconstructed at home, 
costing little, yet convenient and beautiful ; there is daily something getting out 



5l6 FIXING UP FURNITURE. 

of repair which the owner should know how to fix and make as good as before, 
for in this there is a saving of money as well as a consolation of being master 
of the situation. As an aid to the masses this work has been prepared, and in 
the following pages will be found simple, practical instructions in all the vari- 
ous departments of the housewife's employment which are of a mechanical 
nature. 



FIXING UP FURNITURE. 



Varnishes for Furniture. — Many who have attempted the use of var- 
nish failed to do a good job, and do not try again ; they doubtless did not half 
prepare the articles for the dressing and used a cheap varnish. Varnishes are 
composed of different gums and resins, which are generally soluble in alcohol. 
Many of them are made by dissolving the materials in alcohol, so as to liquefy 
them, and then when they are applied the alcohol evaporates, leaving the gum 
or resin in a thin, even coating over the surface. 

If now any alcoholic substance comes upon such a surface, whether it be 
alcohol itself, as used for lamps, or spirits of any kind, or even wine, which con- 
tains but a small percentage of alcohol, a portion of it is dissolved, and the bril- 
liancy of the surface destroyed. None but the very best turpentine varnish 
should be used, and before this is spread, wash the wood in saleratus water, 
and wipe dry with a cloth dampened with alcohol. 

The varnish should be thinned with spirits of turpentine until it will flow easily, 
and spread in a clean, warm room, but not near a hot stove, for strong heat 
will cause the varnish to blister. Use a thin, flat brush ; do not try to get on 
too much of the varnish ; spread evenly and work rapidly, finishing as you go 
along ; never attempt to improve the surface half a minute after you have gone 
over it. See article on " Varnish and Varnishing," page i68. 

To Remove ^pots from Furniture. — To remove ink from furniture, 
wipe the spots with oxalic acid ; let it stand a few minutes and then rub well 
with a cloth wet in warm water. To restore paint and mahogany, wash with 
hartshorn water. Carpets are also improved by putting hartshorn in the water 
when mopping them. To remove white spots from tables or other furniture, 
rub the part with camphor, and they will disappear. Where a whitish mark 
has been left on a table, by carelessly setting on a pitcher of boiling water, or a 
hot dish, pour some lamp oil on the spot and rub it hard with a soft cloth. 
Then pour on a little spirits of wine or cologne water, and rub it dry with 
another cloth. The white mark will thus disappear, and the table look as well 
as ever. 

Before dust or spots of mud are removed from any varnished surface, they 
should be rendered soft with water, so that the grit will not scratch the pol- 



FIXING UP FURNITURE. 517 

ished surface. Oils will not attack either marble or varnished surfaces, and will 
do no injury except to naked wood or other porous substances which admit 
them into the pores, from which they cannot afterward be easily expelled. 

Where crimson upholstery has been worn threadbare and a light spot appears, 
take a steel pen and crim.son ink and touch up the spot. If the cloth is black, 
use black ink ; if blue, use indigo, etc. In this way unsightly spots may be made 
to disappear. 

To Take Out Bruises.— Wet the parts with warm water ; double a 
piece of brown paper five or six times, soak it in the warm water and lay it on 
the place ; apply on that a warm, but not hot, flat-iron till the moisture is evapo- 
rated. If the bruises are not gone, repeat the process. After two applications 
the dent or bruise will be raised to the surface. If the bruise be small, merely 
soak it with warm water and hold a red hot iron near the surface, keeping the 
surface continually wet ; the bruise v/ill soon disappear. 

To Stain Furniture.— A stain which is said to be good, but one I have 
never tried, is made by mixing with one pint of linseed od one and one-half 
ounces of alkanet root and a little of rose pink. This is a stain "of a very pretty 
reddish hue, and should be applied only to such articles as are to be stained. A 
little Venetian red in linseed oil makes a good cherry color. Terra de sienna 
in oil makes a fine oak color ; Venetian red and a very little lamp-black in oil 
makes a mahogany colored stain. 

For dressing up mahogany, mix Indian red with copal varnish till the right 
color is secured ; thin with benzine, and add a little boiled linseed oil if it dries 
faster than is desirable. For black walnut color, mix with same pigments in 
such proportions as are necessary ; or take asphaltum, pulverize it, place it in a 
jar or bottle, pour over it about twice its bulk of turpentine or benzole, put it in 
a warm place and shake it from time to time. When dissolved, strain it and 
apply it to the wood with a cloth or stiff brush. If it should make too dark a 
stain, thin it with turpentine or benzole. This will dry in a few hours. If it is 
desired to bring out the grain still more, apply a mixture of boiled oil and tur- 
pentine ; this is better than oil alone. Put no oil with the asphaltum mixture, 
as it will dry very slowly. 

Removing' Old Varnisli. — Alcohol will destroy the beauty of varnish 
on furniture, and may be used to good advantage when wishing to remove an 
old coat for the purpose of putting on a new. Fine sharp emery or sand paper 
may be used with good effect. 

Dressing Up Furniture. — The following makes a good polish : Shellac 
varnish of the usual consistency, two parts ; boiled oil, one part. Shake it well 
before using. Apply it to the wood by putting a few drops on a cloth and rub- 
bing briskly on the wood for a few moments. This polish works well on old 
varnished furniture. Another for redressing is made of cold drawn linseed oil. 
one quart ; gin or spirits of wine, half a pint ; butter of antimony, two ounces ; 



5l8 FIXING UP FURNITURE. 

spirits of turpentine, half a pint. This mixture requires to be well shaken before 
it is used. A little of it is then poured upon a rubber, which must be well 
applied to the surface of the furniture ; several applications will be necessary 
for new furniture, or for such as had previously been French polished or rubbed 
with beeswax. Still another is made by mixing a pint of linseed oil, one-half 
pound of molasses and a wineglass of gin. Stir it well and put it on lightly 
with a linen rag, rubbing it till dry. 

Furniture Filling'. — Scrape four ounces of beeswax into a basin, and add 
as much oil of turpentine as will moisten it through. Now powder one-fourth 
ounce of resin, and add as much Indian red as will bring it to a deep mahogany 
color. When the composition is properly stirred up, it will prove an excellent 
filling for blemishes in mahogany and other dark furniture. 

Mending- Furniture. — In almost every house may be found bureaus, 
frames, stands, etc., where the veneering is cracked off, and but little time or 
expense is necessary to repair it. Where pieces are split off or out, the same 
should be glued in place by use of the clamp. (See " Wood Clamp," page 20.) 
Fit the surface of a soft wood clamp-block to conform to the surface of the 
piece to be glued in, so that pressure will be all ahke. Heat the block hot, then 
put a thin coating of hot glue on the piece, place it with precision, put on the 
block, and clamp down firmly by use of the wedges. Let the article stand 
twenty-four hours before taking off the clamp. 

If the break is upon the leg of a chair, or other part where severe strain 
comes, the use of screws may be necessary to make the repair durable. In such 
a case, put the piece broken off in a clamp, so as to prevent splitting, then bore 
gimlet holes as required, and countersink for the heads. Next, place the piece 
where it belongs, clamp to the main part, and bore into the other portion far 
enough to enable the screw to work its way ; separate, apply glue, first having 
warmed the piece broken off, then clamp firmly and drive the screws home. 

It is better, generally, if the wood is hard, to drive the screws before gluing, 
to see that they can be forced clear in. It is not a pleasant thing to be balked 
after getting everything, as it is supposed, all ready. The screws should be 
sunk below the surface of the article mended. Touch hot glue to the heads, 
and then press in putty firmly, and smooth off with a glazier's or table knife, 
and stain the putty to conform to the color of furniture repaired. For the 
preparation of glue, see " Glues and Gluing," page 178. Do not try to patch 
things up with mucilage, or any of the prepared materials, for they will never 
give satisfaction, especially where strength is required in the mended parts. 

Wlien to Kepair Furniture. — Chairs, tables, lounges, etc., are con- 
tinually getting out of order in every house, and the time to repair them is when 
the break is first noticed. If neglected, the matter grows still worse, the pieces 
split off, get lost, and finally results in the laying by of the article of furniture as 
worthless. 



FIXING UP FURNITURE. 



519 



To Make Furniture Oil. — Take linseed oil, put it into a glazed crock 
^vith as much alkanet root as it will cover. Let it boil gently and it will become 
of a strong red color ; when cool it will be fit for use on suitable furniture. 

Effect of '^Vater on Furniture. — Water affects no substances except 
such as have open pores exposed, in which case it enters and causes the sub- 
stance to swell ; or such as are soluble in water, as glue in joints and mucilage 
•or gum arable, used sometimes for attaching superficial ornaments to fancy 
Avork. The practical lesson to be learned from this is that housekeepers must 
take care in dealing with furniture to keep water away from everything soluble 
in water, oil from everything porous, alcohol from varnish and acids from 
jTiarble. 

To Clean Upholstered Furniture. — Occasionally upholstered work 
.should be beaten with a flexible stick, then thoroughly brushed. It cannot be 
kept lively and clean by the use of the brush alone. 

Tl^iping- Off Furniture. — After the application of a moist cloth to furni- 
ture, dry it by a brisk rubbing with chamois skin ; this will leave a brightness that 
cannot be obtained by use of a cloth. 




FIG. I — BARREL PREPARED FOR COVERING. 



FIG, 2 — CHAIR COMPLETE FOR USE. 



A Home-made Cliair. — By a little mechanical aid from a man or boy, a 
very comfortable as well as a very ornamental chair may be made by the house- 
wife, with but little expense for material, out of a good sized barrel. In selecting 
the barrel it is necessary that it be strong and well bound with iron hoops. 
The first move should be to mark out the shape for the chair, as shown in fig. i, 
then on the part to remain, rivet the upper hoop to each stave, and fasten the 



520 FIXING UP FURNITURE. 

lower ones so that they will remain in place ; then with a compass sav work 
around upon the chalk lines. By nailing a couple of cleats in the lower part of 
the barrel the upper head may be laid in to form the seat. 

Two pieces of plank should be put beneath the bottom, which may be let in to 
rest upon the lower head and nailed there. These are to hold the casters, if it 
is desired to put them in. They will also answer for supports to a couple of 
pieces put up in front to add to the beauty of the chair and disguise its origin. 
It is not absolutely necessary to use either the planks beneath or the front pieces, 
if one does not feel adequate to the task. After the barrel is prepared, some 
coarse canvas or old stuff is tacked loosely on and stuffed with horse hair or 
wool, a cushion made for the seat of the same, and the whole covered with 
bright-colored chintz. By stuffing well and tufting, as shown in fig. 2, a chair 
will be produced that one will be proud of. Even if the style of covering is not 
imitated and made much plainer, a person will be surprised at what can be ac- 
complished. 

Renewing^ a Rocking^ Chair. — An old family rocking chair may be 
made very comfortable, and changed from an unsightly article by a little effort. 
Make a cushion for the seat out of such soft material as can be spared, then 
cover the back by a prepared padding or old comfortable, then cover the whole 
chair with cheap material, all one color, or flowered chintz. As the old style 
of chairs are the most comfortable possessed, it will pay to keep them in ser- 
vice as long as possible. If you send the chair away to have new rockers put 
on, give instructions to have the new made after the original pattern of the old, 
so that the favorite article will not appear like a stranger on its return. 

Home-made Wasli§taiid. — Select a box — a common dry goods pack- 
ing box is best — about two and a half by two feet square and twenty-eight inches 
high. The side coming front should be open^ and by means of a couple of cleats 
inside, a shelf put in dividing the space into two parts. Before going any further, 
put a common chair caster under each corner. Now put on a back eight or 
ten inches wide by nailing a board to the wall side of the box. The whole thing 
is now ready to drape. 

Cover the top and back board with white or marbled oil cloth tacked on 
smoothly. " For the drapery and trimming," says a lady writer, "take first of 
blue or pink cambric, gather it a little and tack it round the top of stand, for 
the ground work of valance ; if this be left with two openings about eighteen 
inches apart in front, it is best ; then over this put any light material, dotted or 
plain, gathered or plaited. Make double box-plaited trimming of same (or 
similar) goods, and button at top and repeat at bottom, or leave with a plain 
hem (which I think is better) ; put also a section of the trimming on the edges 
where they come together in front. Place here also a bow of ribbon." 

Mirror for l^aslistand. — "A mirror may be placed above the shelf 
and trimmed in same style, and rosettes of ribbon, or a splasher may be substi- 



FIXING UP FURNITURE. 



521 



tuted, made of linen worked with red or blue embroidery cotton (it will wash 
and not fade) on an aquarian design, say one with a large swan, cat-tails, water 
lilies, cypress, ferns, and water-grasses. 

Corner Stand. — " If your room is small and there is no standpoint where 
so large an article as a common washstand can be placed, and yet you must 
have some such arrangement,, get a board sawed out for you, a large triangu- 
lar shaped board which will fit into the corner of your room, and with a com- 
pass saw, cut a hole in the center of it large enough to hold your washbowL 
Also a similar triangle — perhaps a little smaller — to fasten into the wall, a foot 
and a half (or even less) below it. Have cleats nailed to these boards ; stain 
them or cover with oil cloth, and fasten strongly into the lathing of the wall. 
On the upper shelf, a curtain of chintz can be nailed, and a little closet for boxes 
or shoes prepared." 




HOME-MADB TOILET TABLE. 



BEome-macle Toilet Table. — Take a common flour barrel and weight 
it with a stone inside to keep it from tipping over, and then nail in the cover 
and place a board about three feet in length and two in width over the. top of it,. 



522 



FIXING UP FURNITURE. 



fastening it firmly to the barrel with large nails. Then plait up a flounce of 
chintz, and fasten it around three sides of it, cutting it so long that it will touch 
the floor. A scalloped or pointed ruffle should then be added. A cover of the 
chintz could be ruffled around three sides and laid over the top, and then it can 
easily be removed and washed. White dimity or marseilles could be substituted 
for the chintz, and they would bear frequent cleansings without danger of fad- 
ing. A braiding pattern would also add to its beauty, and a fringe would be a 
graceful adjunct. 

A round table may be made as easily as the square, and in some positions is 
more attractive. Take two round boards, barrel heads will do, if a cleat is put 
across the center to hold the parts together. Bore a hole in the center of each 
circle and put in a stick, so as to make the circles twenty-eight inches apart, 
then drape as shown in the illustration. The material may be same as for 
square table or washstand, and the lambrequins nicely embroidered, made plain 
or left off altogether. 

Soiled Clothes Receiver. — Take an ordinary barrel, such as is used 
for flower or fruit packing, and line it with tinted cambric inside and cover the 
outside with chintz or cretonne folded into box-plaits. The top should be fin- 
ished with some sort of lambrequin. The pointed are prettiest, with small cre- 
tonne figures cut out and applied to each section. The lambrequin should be 
of plain brown or Turkey red. Cover the lid with the same material as the 
body of the barrel, and also use the same for a full plaiting around the edge. 
Tassels may be put on and between the points of lambrequin. For handle to 
lift the cover by, take a piece of stiff leather three quarters of an inch wide, and 
seven inches long. Cover this with the chintz or any other material you fancy, 
and put a screw through each end, swelling the leather up in center after the 
manner of a trunk handle. 

To Make a Cheap and Pretty Mantel. — " A pretty mantel can be 
made of pine wood painted black, the lambrequin or drapery fastened to the 
edge with brass headed nails. Make your drapery of any plain dark cloth, have 
it straight and not more than five inches deep. Baste on one or more rows of 
velvet ribbon an inch and a half broad, and cover this with a network of coarse 
sewing silk in long stitches, using bright colors. Finish it with fringe. If you 
cannot buy fringe, make it, and this is a good way : 

" Cut the material for your drapery deep enough for fringe and all, say nine 
inches ; then with sharp scissors cut the lower edge into strips four inches deep, 
and a quarter of an inch wide ; prepare two more strips four inches deep in the 
same way; have them of contrasting colors; for instance, if your drapery is 
garnet, have one of blue and one of yellov/. Fasten these strips underneath the 
fringe on the drapery, then take a bright colored coarse silk and tie these three 
fringes into little tassels, drawing the under colors forward to give a variegated 
appearance." 



PICTURES AND PICTURE FRAMES. 523 

Home-iiiade Foot§tool. — Obtain a box about ten by twelve inches in 
size, remov^e projecting nails, if any, then line the inside with crimson or blue 
paper muslin, so that it will not be unsightly if kicked over ; then cover outside 
after having made and put on a cushion of cheap material. Shape the cushion 
until it pleases the eye, and tack on about the edges. The final covering should 
conform in color to furniture in the room. 

Red moreen or damask wear best, but the cretonne chintz is as cheap as any- 
thing, and infinitely prettier and cleaner, for it washes well. Take the piece of 
whatever material it may be that you intend for the top, and nail on all round 
with a broad furniture gimp, or fringe, and brass-headed nails. The sides are 
to be covered with the same material, and can either be padded or the stuff put 
■on plain. If this is thin, it must have a cambric lining, or probably the wood 
of the box will show through ; fasten this on by the same arrangement of gimp 
and brass nails as you did the top. 

The footstool may be made more attractive by covering with velveteen and 
not using the cushion, but lay a little curled hair, fullest in center, on the top of 
the box. Crimson velveteen is prettiest. Put the velveteen on smoothly and 
tightly, and fasten with brass-headed tacks, placing them at equal distances. A 
tassel of wool or silk placed at each comer will improve the appearance of the 
ottoman, but is not absolutely necessary'. 

^Viiidow Seats. — Seats beneath the windows of sitting or dining rooms 
are a great comfort. Boards twenty inches wide, and as long as the windows 
are wide, are all that are required, save supports which may be improvised. 
Cushion the tops with whatever soft material you have, and cover to the floor 
with pretty chintz or woolen goods. 



PICTURES AND PICTURE FRAMES. 



Spatter Work Pictures. — Procure a sheet of fine uncalendered draw- 
ing paper, and arrange thereon a bouquet of pressed leaves, trailing vines, let- 
ters, or any design which it is desired to have appear in white. Fasten the 
articles by pins stuck into the smooth surface, which should be underneath the 
paper. Then slightly wet the bristles of a tooth or other brush in liquid In- 
dia ink or common black writing ink, then draw them across a stick in such a 
manner that the bristles will be bent and then quickly released. This will cause 
a fine spatter of ink upon the paper. 

Continue the spattering over all the leaves, pins and paper, allowing the center 
of the pattern to receive the most ink, the edges shading off. When done, re- 
move the design, and the forms will be found reproduced with accuracy on the 
tinted ground. With a rustic wooden frame this forms a very cheap and pretty 
ornament. 



524 PICTURES AND PICTURE FRAMES. 

To Preserve Drawings. — A simple device for the preservation of cards^ 
drawings or photographs from injury by being handled or coming in contact 
with moisture, has been invented, and consists of a preparation of gutta percha 
in solution. The liquid is thrown, in a very fine spray, over the article, by an 
atomizer. 

When the liquid has in part evaporated, which it soon does, it leaves the 
object coated over with a thin, translucent film, impervious to water. The gutta 
percha should first be purified, and it then is soluble in chloroform or ether. 
The process of dissolving the gum is in itself purifying. A drawing or photo- 
graph protected by this film can be washed with safety. The preparation softens, 
at a temperature of 150° Fahr. ; but to this only a rare accident would sub- 
ject it. 

Picture of Ferns. — Press and dry pretty ferns, then take a sheet of heavy^ 
white Bristol board twelve by fourteen inches, larger or smaller, as desired, for 
a background to the picture. 

The ferns, with dried grasses and a few pressed flowers, can be arranged in 
nicely, leaving one and half inches of margin around both sides and one end. 
Inclose in a nice frame of walnut and gilt, and hang near the plant stand if you 
have one. A vine of the parlor ivy can stray to and twine around the cord 
that the frame is hung by, with pleasing effect. 

Home-made Window Pictures. — Upon a square of white or deli- 
cately tinted Bristol board, says a lady correspondent, trace lightly some pretty 
designs, such as a bouquet, a cluster of leaves and fruit, or a cross or an 
anchor, wreathed with flowers or leaves. Those of the former selected for imita- 
tion should be simple in form. 

Among the most effective are passion flowers, lilies of the valley, roses and 
buds, sweet peas and apple blossoms. Ivy or fern leaves are beautiful by them- 
selves ; or the former is, perhaps, prettier than anything except the passion vine, 
if twined about a cross. Bunches of grapes, currants or strawberries, each with 
a few of their own leaves attached, are very suitable. 

Having traced the design, lay the Bristol board flat on a block of hard wood,, 
and with a thin bladed and very sharp knife, proceed to cut smoothly through 
as much of each outline as possible without entirely detatching any leaf or other 
distinct portion from the whole. One-fifth of a leaf left without cutting through 
will generally be found sufficient. 

Sometimes judicious prickings with a coarse needle add to the good effect. 
The points of the leaves and of the petals of the flowers should next be passed 
through toward the window to admit the light and give the softly shaded effect 
we desire. The transparency can then be hung close to a window pane by 
means of narrow white ribbon loops at the corners secured to the wood work. 

To Fix Pencil or Crayon Drawing's. — It is said this may be done 
cheaply, simply and without injury to the drawings by varnishing them on the: 



PICTURES AND PICTURE FRAMES. 525 

back with an alcoholic solution of white gum-lac. This solution quickly pene- 
trates the paper, and enters even into the marks of the crayon on the other side. 

The alcohol rapidly evaporates, so that in an instant all the light dust from 
the crayons and chalk, which resembles that on the wings of the butterfly, ad- 
heres so firmly to the paper, the drawing may be rubbed and carried about 
without the least particle being affected. The following are the accurate pro- 
portions of the solution : Ten parts of common gum-lac are dissolved in one 
hundred parts of alcohol ; the liquid is afterward bleached with animal char- 
coal. 

Mountings and Varnighing Cliromos. — Procure a piece of binders' 
or other strong pasteboard of exactly the size of the picture to be mounted. To 
this attach the chromo with any smooth paste. Do not use glue for this pur- 
pose, as it is apt to soak through the paper. Care should be taken that the pic- 
ture is laid perfectly flat and that all wrinkles are smoothed out. 

When nearly dry, cover the face of the chromo with a weak size made of the 
best white glue. Over this, when dry, lay on varnish, which must be perfectly 
clear and pure. Chromos thus prepared will not need to be covered with glass 
for preservation, but may be treated in the same manner as oil paintings. 

How to Clean Cliromos. — When you clean them, use a soft feather 
brush, or wipe them with a soft chamois skin (a drop of oil may restore clear- 
ness), or with a fine linen rag very slightly dampened. Always tenderly ! Next, 
whenever the original varnish coating is dulled, bruised or rubbed, revarnish it 
with thin mastic varnish. (See page 174.) 

To Display Cliromos. — Chromos, like oil paintings, should not be hung 
in a dark room, but in one with a diffused light, and never exposed to the direct 
rays of the sun. The chromos after water colors keep and display better when 
placed under glass, as they lack the protecting cover of the varnish. The larger 
chromos, after oil paintings, display, as a general rule, best when framed like 
original paintings. It is not necessary to put these under glass ; it is a matter 
of taste — preserving them, at the same time, from dust and rough handling. 

To Clean Sng-raving-s. — To clean and whiten engravings which have 
become dirty by hanging in a smoky room, soak in a weak, clear solution of 
chloride of lime until white, and then soak in running water. Steep for half an 
hour in water containing a very little hyposulphite of soda to neutralize any 
trace of adhering bleach, and dry between blotting paper under pressure. 

To Hake a Medley Picture. — Prepare your foundation by tacking 
muslin over a frame tightly. The muslin should be a clear white. Make a dim 
pencil mark around where the outer margin is to be, so as to make a mechanical 
finish. If a common center is desired, paste around the outer edges first, till 
the center is reached ; if a plain view is desired, begin at top, passing in rows 
from left to right across the foundation ; if a square frame is used, select a pic- 
ture suitable for each corner ; the upper row looks best with sky displayed. 



526 PICTURES AND PICTURE FRAMES. 

Distance is better displayed by pasting only the lower half of the pictures -^ 
when the pictures are all pasted they will not appear in rows, as they vary sa 
much in size ; each row should lap more or less on each preceding row. Good 
mucilage or flour paste may be used to fasten the pictures on with. The latter 
is preferable if the paper is thin, as mucilage may show through. 

To Clean Oil Paintings. — Oil paintings that are valuable not uncom- 
monly become in time damaged in appearance by dust and smoke. When this 
is the case, and it is desired to clean them, the work should be performed with, 
extreme care. It is said they may be renewed by dissolving a small quantity of 
salt in some stale urine ; dip a woolen cloth in the mixture, and rub the paint- 
ings over with it till they are clean, then wash them with a sponge and clean 
water, dry them gradually, and rub them over with a clean cloth. Should the. 
dirt be not easily moved by the above preparation, add a small quantity of soft 
soap. Be very careful not to rub the painting too hard. 

Where the painting is not damaged by smoke, the foregoing preparation should 
not be used. In any event, try one corner of the picture first. Sometimes by 
rubbing the painting with the balls of the fingers, the varnish can be rubbed 
away in part, leaving a clean surface which may be redressed. 

Cold water in some cases is all that is required to clean a painting. If this does 
not take hold sufficiently, add a very little alcohol or soap. Where soap is used, 
rinse thoroughly by putting the picture under a stream of pure water, until all 
the soap is off. 

To Restore Oil Painting^s. — By lapse of time and physical and chemi- 
cal changes, the paint loses in some degree its transparency and the picture 
fades, those colors containing the least of oil changing the most. Pettenkofer 
has discovered that the vapor of alcohol will renew the qualities, and he restores 
old oil paintings by placing them over a tight box, in the bottom of which is a 
flannel cloth, which has been dampened with alcohol of eighty per cent, strength. 
The arrangement should be such that every part of the picture will be exposed 
to the alcoholic vapor. 

To Transfer Steel £ngraving[s. — Take glass that is perfectly clear 
(window glass will answer), clean it thoroughly, then varnish it on one side 
only, taking care to have it perfectly smooth, place it where it will be entirely 
free from dust, let it remain overnight, then take your engraving, place it in 
clear water until it is wet through, say ten or fifteen minutes, then lay it upon a 
newspaper that the moisture may dry from the surface and still keep the other 
side damp. 

Immediately varnish your glass the second time and place your engraving on 
it, taking care to lay it on straight, press it down firmly so as to exclude every 
particle of air, then rub the paper from the back carefully until it is of uniform 
thickness, so thin that you can see through it ; varnish the third time and let it 
dry in a room of moderate temperature. 



PICTURES AND PICTURE FRAMES. 527- 

TraTisferrin§^ Pencil DraAviiig-s. — Any kind of reasonably fine paper,. 
either thick or thin, serves to receive the copy. Simply lay it upon the drawing- 
board, then upon the face of the drawing paper lay the transfer paper, and upon 
the top of the lot lay the drawing, pencil marks upward, fasten the whole three 
sheets together and to the board by four drawing pins, one at each corner, 
then proceed to run over the pencil marks with a fine but dull pointed instru- 
ment. Use for the purpose a stocking darning needle with a handle, and the 
point ground off ; and run over the marks same way as with a transparent slate. 

If the drawing is not too thick and the carbon paper is good, a good copy 
may be obtained with care and practice. Copies are also taken by first perforat- 
ing the picture with small holes along the marked lines with a needle, then after- 
ward laying it on the face of another sheet of paper, and rubbing it over with, 
powdered black lead ; the black lead goes through the holes and leaves a dotted 
outline beneath. A pencil is afterward run over the marks and a fair copy is 
produced, which can be quickly multiplied. 

Plioto-Enamel Work. — The first step to be taken in preparing the- 
picture is to soak it off the card, if mounted, and care should be taken that it 
gets perfectly dry before putting on glass. Make a paste, using about fourteen 
teaspoonfuls of water to one of starch, boil until perfectly transparent, spread on 
both picture and glass, take two thicknesses of good wrapping paper and put. 
on the back of the picture, changing as soon as the paper becomes sticky; 
work out the paste carefully and thoroughly from the center of the picture, 
let it get perfectly dry, and then fill it with castor oil. 

Let it remain until perfectly transparent, pour off the oil, and dry with a soft 
sponge, being very careful not to injure the picture. It is now ready to paint. 
Paint the eyes and jewelry on the photograph side with water colors. Cover 
this with another glass and paint with oil colors all other parts, having put small 
pieces of cardboard on all sides of the second glass to keep them separate. 

Use the colored paper for back that will harmonize best with the picture. 
There are several ways that the work can be done quicker, but none, I think, 
superior to this, if directions are followed closely. Use the paints right from 
the tubes. 

Perforated Cardboard Frame. — Cut from your perforated paper 
two side pieces and two end pieces of the length and width you wish your frame 
to be ; allowing for projecting corners, as they are much prettier than plain. 
Notch the ends, lay them in the proper form, and tack slightly at the crossing- 
places with fine thread. 

Then cut four more pieces, one row of perforations smaller all around ; lay 
these upon, and exactly in the middle of the others and tack as before. Con- 
tinue this, making each layer smaller by one row of holes all around, until a 
width of only two or three rows is obtained. The last layer, perhaps the last 
two, are better gummed on than sewed. Some use gum water altogether. 



528 PICTURES AND PICTURE FRAMES. 

These frames are strong enough to support a Hght glass — fitting it neatly In 
at the back — if a glass is desired. After the picture is in place, paste strong 
paper over the whole back, which will give it firmness. A fancy button or other 
ornament sewed on at the corners will make a neat finish to the frame. 

These frames may be made varying from one inch to an inch and a half in 
Avidth, according to the size of the picture and the strength required. Colored 
paper is preferable to white, when it can be procured. Wood color is very 
pretty, also various shades of brown. Green and straw color look well for land- 
scapes. 

Rose Leaf Picture Frames. — The leaves of the multiflora or climb- 
ing rose are best suited for this purpose, as they have a greater richness and 
variety of color than most of the rose family. At the time that there is the 
greatest variety of colored leaves, strip them from the bush and put them to 
press in any old book you do not wish to use ; change them as often as every 
other day until sufficiently dried. 

Take any picture you wish — an engraving is generally used — very pretty, 
though small ones, may be found in magazines, ladies' books, etc., larger ones 
are usually purchased at bookstores — tack on to a pasteboard which will leave 
a margin the width you wish for your rose leaf frame, outside the engraving. 
Fasten the leaves on to the pasteboard frame either m knots or groups, or singly, 
overlapping each other, and varnish. When dry, suspend with cord and tassels, 
and you have a very pretty picture. 

Use for Old Frames. — Old picture frames that have become defaced, 
may be used as the foundation for shell frames. Scrape off the old varnish as 
much as possible, and then take shells, small nuts, beans, cones, pebbles, seeds, 
pits of fruit, etc., and arrange them upon the frame to suit the taste. The larg- 
est cones or nuts look best at the corners and in the middle of the sides. Fasten 
them on with strong glue, and when firmly set give all a coat of varnish. 

Composition Oriiaineiits for Fraanes. — Mix whiting with thin glue 
to the consistence of putty. Have the mold ready ; rub it over with sweet oil 
and press the composition into it. When a good impression is produced, take 
it out and lay it aside to dry. If it be desired to fit the ornament to a curved 
or irregular surface, apply glue and bend it to the place where it is to be 
attached before it gets dry. 

Trimming Picture j witli Vines. - - By placing a wedge-shaped can, 
filled with good soil, behind a picture, English ivy may be grown vigorously, 
and while the rootings are out of sight, the vines may be made to twine at will. 
The effect will be most gratifying. If the picture is so located that the can may 
be seen at a certain part of the room, it may be painted or papered so as to be 
ornamental of itself. 

Fastening: §Iiells to Frames. — Where shells are to be put on a box or 
frame close together, glue m.ay be used, but where they are not so close to- 



PICTURES AND PICTURE FRAMES. 529 

gether but that the base can be seen between them, a cement made of white 
paint or putty should be employed. 

Take whiting and oil or putty as bought at the store, and a little chrome 
green ; mix and pound it with a hammer until there are no streaks of green or 
white in it ; have it just thick enough so it will not run ; then spread it smoothly 
over one side of the frame a little less than one-eighth of an inch thick • put on 
the things, and then spread putty on another side. When the frame is dry, var- 
nish it, and when it is thoroughly dry it will be as solid as any one could desire. 

Repairing Oilded Frames. — Very often gilded picture frames become 
damaged either by bruises or the plating cleaving off from the plaster founda- 
tion, which makes them unsightly. Now, if taken to a picture store, you will 
be told that there is no remedy, as they cannot be repaired, so don't take them. 

Buy a small paper of bronzing or gilding dust, and, after applying a little var- 
nish to the damaged part of the frame, dust on a little of the gilding material 
through a cloth and let it dry. It, of course, will not make the frame as good 
as new, but the white, unsightly place will be covered up and not be detected 
unless closely examined. 

There is a gilding powder which comes in a small bottle, with a second phial 
of liquid for wetting, which is far superior to the first mentioned. It is called 
"gold pamt," and is certainly a very excellent thing for fresh gilding or repair- 
ing damaged articles that have been gilded. I have used many bottles of it. 

Corn Husk Picture Frames. — Take a piece of cardboard large enough 
to leave from four to five inches margin after cutting a square place in center 
large enough to expose the picture to be framed. 

Next, take line white husks — not those thin, like tissue paper — cut into strips 
half or three quarters of an inch wide, according to the size of the picture, make 
them three inches long, then double over, forming a loop, and bring the ends to- 
gether. Fasten two rows of these loops clear around the edge of the opening 
in the cardboard. Begin sewing on at upper left hand corner, cross the top and 
down the right side, then begin at upper left hand again and go down and cross 
the bottom, either lapping over at the crossings, or cutting off closely, so that 
there will be a good match. 

In putting on the loops, of course, one is laid overlapping the other, shingle 
fashion, just so that the loops touch each other. After these two rows have 
been completed, cut some more husks full width and three inches long ; double 
into loops as first, then slit them fine with a needle and sew on a double row 
the other way, /, <?., across the frame at right angles with the first, the fine loops 
overlapping the others a little. 

Now put on two rows around the outside upon the ends of the shredded ones, 
in same order as the first. These also should be split up fine with the needle 
and cut of uniform width. As the middle rows run sidewise around the frame 
instead of endwise they can be put on full or any width. 



530 PICTURES AND PICTURE FRAMES. 

Trim edge smooth, cutting cardboard up close to husks, then take a thin piece 
of board and make a frame. Place your glass and picture between your paper 
frame and your board frame, and tack or paste your paper frame down smoothly. 
You will thus have a very pretty rustic frame. Reject stained husks. 

To Make Picture Nails Hold. — Sometimes a good deal of trouble is 
experienced in getting nails to hold in a plastered wall just where they should 
be to allow the pictures to hang at a given point, or exactly between two casings. 
.If neither nail or screw can be driven to hold, Imake the hole by use of a gimlet 
larger than is required for the nail ; then fill the hole with plaster of Paris wet 
with salt water, and insert a screw by turning it carefully in ; then finish 
the job with a pocket knife blade, forcing in as much plaster as possible, but do 
the work rapidly, as the plaster will set quickly and hold firmly. 

Tlie Arrangement of Pictures. — It is often impossible, in small par- 
lors and sitting rooms, to give each picture precisely the light which would show 
it to best advantage, therefore a careful distinction should be made. It is seldom 
well to hang a somber picture in a broad light, or a cheerful, sunny one in a 
shaded corner. A moonlit landscape or a night storm at sea, are better placed 
in a mild light, while a group of laughing children, or a harvest scene, seem 
naturally to require a strong one. 

If there is one picture considerably larger than the others, it should have the 
widest vacant space on the wall, provided the space is at all suitable for it. 
Companion pictures should be near together or — which often has a better effect 
— placed each side of a window. The space between two windows, if not occu- 
pied by a mirror, is very nice for a gilt frame picture of good size; dark frames 
look better in a more subdued light. 

Orctuping- Pictures. — In grouping, regard should be had to the size, 
shape and color of frames, and to the subject of the pictures. Oval forms are 
preferable to square for grouping, though the rustic or "log cabin" frames, 
with projecting corners, hung in triangle or diamond forms, often look extremely 
well. 

Three pictures of the same general appearance, hung in a horizontal row — 
about half the width of the picture is considered a proper distance between 
them — with two smaller above, and the same below, matching the spaces, and 
making seven in all, are a very convenient and common form. Or if the cen- 
tral piece is larger than the others, the effect is equally good. 

Two ovals, one above the other, with a smaller rustic or square frame each 
side, matching the vacant space, look very well ; or vice versa, the ovals out- 
side. Many arrange pictures to represent crosses, but care should be taken not 
to overdo the cruciform style. I have seen parlors in which this symbol was so 
often and so incongruously introduced that it seemed shorn of its best signifi- 
cance. 

It is well, when convenient, that those pictures which correspond in position 



PICTURES AND PICTURE FRAMES. 53I 

should be nearly uniform in size and in general aspect. But this is not all im- 
portant, and considerable variety may be made ver}^ pleasing, especially if the 
cluster be composed of quite small pictures, like card photographs in tasteful 
frames. 

Do not allow too much incongruity in the expression of the group. If one 
arm of your cross, or one point of your diamond is a Madonna or a crucifixion, 
do not let the corresponding one be a Bacchus crowned with vine leaves, or a 
jolly washerwoman ! A rural landscape accommodates itself to almost any 
place ; so does an infantile face or a garland of flowers. 

Lights for Pictures. — When it is practicable, avoid cross lights, and if 
in your picture the sun is represented as shining from the left, try to arrange it 
so that the light from your window will humor the delusion. 

To Make Olass Transparencies. — Mrs. Caroline S. Jones, who has 
written much concerning domestic arts, has furnished the author with the fol- 
lowing very excellent directions for making glass transparencies, such as shades 
for lamps, panels for outside doors and window panes (desired obscure), be- 
sides lanterns for halls, vestibules, and other positions, in this style, which are 
extremely chaste and effective. 

Imitation of Carved Marble Olass Transparency. — The best 
designs for this work are the statuary figures photographed or engraved. 
Take the picture and place upon it the ground glass, cut in proper shape and 
thoroughly cleansed ; then sketch off the design with great care (if ground 
glass cannot be procured readily, varnish plain glass with dammar, using it rather 
thin and applying smoothly ; when dry until merely sticky, place very sheer 
Swiss, or fine, close-meshed bobbinet over it, rolHng perfectly smooth, and until 
it unites with the varnish in every part). 

Having sketched in the manner described, or by pricking the outlines on 
paper, placing this on the glass (rough side), dust lightly with a pumice bag, 
using fine black powder of some kind, then lifting the paper, the design will re- 
main in minute dots, which may be readily drawn out. 

Next proceed to shade with drawing pencils Nos. BB, B, F, HB and H, using 
a buckskin " stump " or the stub ends of old camel's hair brushes. Rub down 
and soften all rough outlines, blending and mellowing the shades until the true 
effect is obtained of the carved marble statue. 

This must be carefully done, following the lights and shades suggested by 
the photograph or engraving. The high lights and deep, dark shadows are to 
be touched up last, the former with mastic varnish, the heavy strokes with 
black crayon, shaded and " stumped " until the desired effect is produced. 

When the figure is thus satisfactorily finished, the entire ground must be 
filled in with opaque black, made by rubbing up lamp-black with copal varnish, 
or tube paint will answer, if more convenient. 

Clear glass may be used if the design, after being outlined, is painted over 



532 PICTURES AND PICTURE FRAMES. 

with two coats of dammar (antique) varnish. The work is made very much finer 
by constant applications of the pencils, touching and retouching, " stumping," 
and shading repeatedly, until no sharp lines mar the softness. These transpar- 
encies are exquisitely lovely, the statuary appearing to stand out in bold reliel 
with soft, white, statuesque beauty against the deep black background. 

Where it is desirable to have colored transparencies, the ground may be laid 
with any transparent color, Prussian blue, any of the lakes, mixed with dammar 
varnish, as crimson, lake and Prussian blue for a rich purple, vivid emerald 
green from yellow lake and Prussian blue, etc. 

Crlass Traii§pareiicies witli Engraviiigs. — Have the glass perfectly 
clean, and apply a coat of antique varnish, dry and give a second coat. When 
these are dry apply a third coat, and when dry until sticky, it is ready for the 
engraving. This should be laid between the folds of a damp towel until thor- 
oughly moist, sprinkling a little salt in the water. Then place it (face down) on 
the varnished side of the glass, and with a pad pat and press every part of it 
until all air bubbles are expressed, and there is full assurance that each part 
adheres closely to the glass. 

When the whole engraving has been firmly fixed, moisten the finger in clear 
water and commence rubbing off the white paper from the wrong side, rolling 
off the minute pellets as they form beneath the finger ; as the engraving is 
approached great care will be required, in order not to disturb the mere film of 
ink, which if destroyed would mar the engraving. Dry thoroughly, and if any 
white spots or dim places appear, again dampen the finger and remove them. 

The picture should appear quite perfect when the clear glass is placed upon a 
solid ground for the purpose of rectifying any blemishes. Then if colored de- 
signs are desired, take transparent paints and tint according to the shades of 
the engraving, which any mere tyro in the art may readily accomplish, and 
when dry put on the ground, then again dry and apply white antique (dammar) 
varnish. These transparencies are lovely beyond description. 

To Make a Pas§e-Partout. — A passe-partout should only be made 
small, say ten by twelve or twelve by fourteen inches. One light of glass, a 
piece of cardboard size of glass, the picture to be framed, which should be an 
engraving or water colored painting, a few strips cotton cloth an inch and a half 
wide, two pieces of tape two inches long, and a yard or two of fancy paper an 
inch wide, are the materials required. A piece of old pasteboard box will 
answer well enough for cardboard. 

On the back of the pasteboard sew the two pieces of tape, forming loops — use 
rings in them if you choose — have them one on each side near the edge, and about 
one-third the height from the top of the picture. Then put the glass over the 
picture, the pasteboard behind it, and holding the edges firmly together, paste 
over them the strip of cloth to hold them firmly together. Do not allow the 
cloth to reach over the edge of the glass more than a quarter of an inch. 



PICTURES AND PICTURE FRAMES. 



533 



Set the picture away until dry, then put on the binding paper, which should 
"be either red, stone or gold color to look best. When putting on these edges 
join as neatly as possible at the corners, allowing the paper to project over and 
upon the surface of the glass three-eighths of an inch, or enough to cover the 
thin cloth. 

Frame for Pressed Ferns and Flowers. — Select feverfew that has 
not been in bloom more than a day or two, and pansies that are large and per- 
fect ; also ferns that are not specked or broken. Make a rustic frame by cross- 
ing, as illustrated, four sticks. The frame should be twelve by fourteen inches 
or larger, according to the size of glass used, and fastened by small nails at the 
corners. 

After your flowers are pressed perfectly dry and frame ready, take a pane of 
glass, wipe it clean and dry, then have some gum arabic dissolved and a small 
camel's hair brush. Brush the back of each flower, fern or pansy thoroughly 
with the gum arabic before placing it on the glass, which should be laid on a 
table. 




RUSTIC FRAME, OR FERN CASE. 



Arrange the flowers on the glass in a bouquet in the center, pressing each 
one carefully down with a small linen cloth. Around the edge, two inches in 
toward center, make a narrow border of detached pieces of fern if you like. 

The glass should be an inch smaller, at least, than the frame. After the 
bouquet and border is arranged, and has stood a half day, varnish the flowers 
and borders with white dammar varnish. When this is dry, put another pane of 
glass of same size over the first and bind the edges with narrow ribbon. Hang 
them in the frame with a bow of ribbon, tied and then sewed from the corners 
of the glass to the corners of the frame. This makes an elegant parlor or 
library ornament. The frame may be set on a table with brace or against 
the wall or be supported by a standard. 



534 PICTURES AND PICTURE FRAMES. 

Eastlake Picture Hang^ing^. — One form of Eastlake picture hanging 
is suspending- the frame by velvet straps at each upper corner. Cut strips of 
canvas one inch wide and cover with velvet or velveteen. Wine color I prefer. 
Put curtain rings in one end to go on to nails or hooks on the wall. The lower 
ends are simply tacked to back of frame. Straps go straight up. 

Heig-lit of Hanging- Pictures. — Pictures should never be hung so 
high as to make looking at them a pain to the neck, as was the custom at 
one time. New houses are quite commonly built of late with a rod Stretched 
along the wall close to the ceiling, from which pictures may be suspended, 
and on which they may be slipped to any point desired. A few nice picture 
nails, however, do not deform a wall, and often two or more pictures may be 
hung from one. 

Proportion in Margins in Pictures, — A cabinet maker gives the 
following rules for comparative space between the subject and frame : First, 
find a harmonic third to the length and breadth of the print and take it for the 
collective widths of the margin and frame. Second, divide this space harmoni- 
cally, so that the whole space and the greater and smaller parts of it are three 
successive harmonic terms, and you have then taken the less part for the margin 
and the greater part for the frame. 

In my opinion, the eye should be more of a guide than mathematics in finding 
the proper widths of margins in pictures and frames. Oil paintings and 
chromos have no margins, and these should have deep frames of gilt or gold. 
Steel engravings look well with flat, dark frames, as they have white margins. 
A small oil painting requires a proportionately deeper frame than a large 
one. 

Appropriateness of Pictures. — Some one, I know not who, has very 
wisely said, that " pictures are always beautiful when they represent pleasant 
ideas, so we never fancied a battle scene on a parlor wall. We cannot see the 
propriety of ornamenting a sleeping room with a murder scene, and a sick 
chamber with the cut of somebody's 'tomb,' or a floral cross taken from a 
coffin. Cemeteries are a necessary evil, under the present constitution of things, 
but we like to have them kept in their places. 

" It is not always quieting to a sick man's nerves to see the jaws of death 
open to receive him. Give us a grand landscape for the parlor — a landscape 
that will thrill you with happiness and inspire you with noble motives every 
time you see it. In your sleeping room hang the lovely face of a tired child 
that has dropped off to dreamland among the roses. 

"Give to the sick ones a peep into a sunlit vale, with only shadows enough to 
make it look like rest and peace, and let them see a clear, still lake, with a green 
and quiet shore. But these ' masterpieces' of death agonies — where shall we 
put them ? Surely not in our happy homes, not among our flowers and little 
children." 



CHEAP WINDOW CURTAINS. 535 

CHEAP WINDOW CURTAINS. 



Scrap Silk Curtains. — A very effective and unique heavy curtain is made 
in the following manner : Make a collection of all colors and kinds of old silk 
and satin which is not soiled, and the more new scraps the better. Cut or tear 
into strips, say half an inch wide ; sew these together and wind into a ball ex- 
actly as rags are prepared for a carpet. When a sufficient quantity by weight 
is thus prepared, take it to a carpet weaver and have it woven the width you 
desire the curtain, in the same manner a rag carpet is made, the weaver using 
silk instead of cotton warp. 

If the warp is all of one shade, garnet, gold, or blue as preferred, it will pro- 
duce the best effect. Individual taste may be exercised in arranging the colors 
of the silk strips, but they should be promiscuously mingled. Avoid set stripes 
of red or blue of any width at all. If two or three strands simply, of gold color, 
a foot, apart when woven, can be obtained, the result is pleasing. 

When the weaver returns your scraps woven into the desired length for cur- 
tain or portiere, finish the front and bottom edge with a band of plush or velvet 
of a bright shade, and when hung loop with the gilded chains. 

Mii§lin Curtains. — No one who has not used unbleached muslin, or cloth 
of open texture, called cheese capping, can realize how rich and becoming such 
curtains, if properly made, are to a room. Put up either with cornice, pole and 
rings, or even fastened to the upper casing of the window and doubled over at 
the top in plaits, forming a sort of lambrequin, they are nice. For trimming at 
the lower part use three bars of colored flannel, and at the top beneath the cornice 
or pole three more, each one edged with a feather-stitch embroidery in worsted 
silk. The curtains should be long enough to touch the floor when looped. 
, Trimming Muslin Curtains. — The flannel for trimming unbleached 
muslin curtains to be most effective should be crimson, navy blue, or yellow. 
They may contain them all, one stripe of each. Harper s Bazar gives some 
very good instructions upon the art of trimming, etc., which I annex : " Cut the 
flannel lengthwise to avoid seams, making bars of either one-eighth or one- 
quarter in width, according to fancy. Baste them across the curtain about half 
a yard above the hem, leaving a small distance between each. 

" A half or quarter of a yard below the cornice put the same, with equal dis- 
tances between. Finish the edges v/ith a row of feather-stitch or any such em- 
broidery in worsted. Black, yellow, crimson, and deep green, with a little pale 
salmon, are good colors to use, but of course individual fancy may be exercised. 
In case lining is desired, a cheaper quality of unbleached muslin or a colored 
Canton flannel may be used. 

"When the side pieces of the curtain are finished, take a strip two yards long 
and about one yard in depth, and trim with narrow bands of the flannel to 



536 CHEAP WINDOW CURTAINS. 

match the sides. This must be plaited on the center of the cornice first, or 
hung on the pole if one is used ; then plait on the side pieces, and do not loop 
them back unless such an effect be specially suited to the window. Curtains 
of this description may be made for about $2.50 a window. The navy blue 
flannels are twenty-five to forty cents a yard ; the higher colors forty to fifty. 

" Curtains quite as pretty, though less brilKant in effect, may be made in a 
simpler way. Use the unbleached muslin, trimming in bands, similar to the 
flannel ones described, with colored Canton flannels, which are to be found in 
rich shades of crimson, blue and brown for fifteen cents a yard. Either the 
right or wrong side may be used effectively, a feather-stitch border of black and 
yellow being the best finish. With these it is better to have a border about a 
quarter of a yard in depth across the bottom of the curtains of the flannel. 

Fringe and Chintz Curtain Trimming^i. — " A good effect is ob- 
tained by putting blue or crimson worsted fringe across the upper bands. Fringe 
in this way is very much used in the best upholsteries. Still other modes of 
trimming the muslin curtains are with chintzes and cretonnes. The pretty glace 
chintz which you can find for twenty cents a yard, in band patterns, straight 
garlands of roses, and the like, is extremely effective put on in strips, the width 
of the chintz making three or four bands, so that seven yards of the chintz and 
eight of the muslin will furnish one window. The cretonnes also trim effectively 
in a border cut out and worked in button-hole stitch, if you like, or simply put 
on as border, with a frill of the cretonne muslin fluted by a machine. 

I>aQnask. Curtain§.^ — " Curtains more elaborate than muslin may be made 
of gray table damask. Divide the width for each window, put a hem border of 
either the Canton flannel, Turkey red, or the red and white table damask, which 
• trims very prettily ; then embroider a wide band across the lower part of the 
curtain, one at the upper, and edge these with stripes of velvet or velveteen. 
These curtains may be manufactured at home. The embroidery is, of course, in 
worsted, exactly like that used in the tidies. Manila cloth or burlaps is very 
pretty, the latter worked in worsted. 

" For any worker who has time to devote to such graceful employments, 
beautiful curtain borders, and very inexpensive ones, may be made of worsted 
flowers, such as pansies, marguerites and other flat-petaled blossoms. These 
would border the unbleached muslin most effectively, with or without a finish 
of black velvet. 

Canton Flannel Curtains. — " Very pretty curtains may be made of 
Canton flannel, ornamented with cretonne figures, which, being carefully- chosen 
< and cut out, should be artistically grouped, and glued on the flannel, and then 
pressed with a warm flat-iron. The effect is novel. In preparing these windov/ 
hangings one result will suggest another. Already innumerable ways and 
means are found by those interested in the cheaper form of household decora- 
tions." 



MAKING AND CLEANING CARPETS. 537 

Poles for Curtains. — " Cornices are not so much used as poles, and to ob- 
tain the latter get a carpenter to cut you simple poles of black walnut or stained 
pine. It is easy to find brass tops, which you can insert yourself, and put on 
the curtains either on rings or by running them over the poles. A very little 
practice and experience suggest many economies of the sort, which only need 
some one's trial for a precedent. 

Colors for Curtains. — " A touch of yellow with either blue or green has 
an excellent effect. Crimson always furnishes a large window better than a 
small one, and pale blue or pink requires a very dainty taste and surroundings 
which are in every way artistic. It is impossible to be reckless with these neu- 
tral tones or they vulgarize the rest of the apartment. 

" We can give color and effect in any room with other tints, regardless of minor 
surroundings, but a bed room hung in any delicate shade demands a certain 
perfection, from the tint of the wall to the plates or vases on the chiffoniers, or 
frames upon the obscurest pictures in the room." 



MAKING AND CLEANING CARPETS. 



% 

The Rag Carpet. — As much good taste can be displayed in making a 
rag carpet as in any other article of domestic manufacture, and no one need be 
ashamed of a good one ; yet I believe there is no home-made article where such 
a lack of artistic skill is shown as in this. The rags may be cut well, and 
nicely colored, but the arrangement is too often left to the weaver, who will plan 
the stripe to suit her own taste, or so as to be most convenient for weaving. It 
is better to plan your own stripe, or get some one to help you whom you 
Tcnow has better taste than yourself. 

Stripes in a Rag Carpet. — Wind the stripe that you wish copied upon 
a strip of board, and make your rags of different color to correspond in pounds 
with the different shades put into the stripe. 

Preparing- Rags for a Carpet. — Cotton rags should be cut wider 
than woolen, so that they will show the same size when beaten up, and make the 
texture uniform ; this can be easily managed by pressing a strip of each kind 
between the fingers. Never wind two colors in one ball, for it will perplex the 
weaver, and ten chances to one be the means of injuring the beauty of your 
carpet. 

The most convenient way for cutting rags, if one has a sewing machine, is to 
take breadths of the same kind and color, lap the ends half an inch or more 
and sew twice across ; then tear strips the whole length, cutting across the 
seams of course, and there will be but little work left for the needle. 



53^ MAKING AND CLEANING CARPETS. 

If a smooth carpet is wanted, most of the rags must be cotton, and the other 
rags made of fine woolen cloth. Coarse threaded woolen rags make a carpet 
look rough, and though it may do well for a kitchen, it is not nice for a dining^ 
room. Unless the rags are light, it will take a pound and a half, and sometimes 
more, for each yard of carpet. 

To know when sufficient rags are prepared for the number of yards wanted, 
the prepared rags must be weighed. If the rags are light, it will not take quite 
a pound and a half ; but if they are coarse threaded or woolen rags, it will take 
some more than a pound and a half, if the carpet is well beaten up. 

For a hap-hazard carpet, all different colors may be mixed in sewing. This 
will use up all short rags, or any color or shade, and often makes a very pretty 
carpet, which may be woven easier and cheaper than a striped carpet. Short 
pieces, or those not more than three or four yards long, alternated with shorter 
ones, look the best in this kind of carpet. Any light mixed or plaided woolens 
may be improved in color by dipping in a good red dye. Clean white rags can 
be colored yellow, orange, blue or green. Dingy white rags will look well 
colored hemlock color and set with lime. 

Warp for a Rag^ Carpet. — As to warp, all kinds are used, some prefer- 
ring to buy cotton yarn and double it ; others get the prepared, which is by far the 
cheapest, if a woman values her time anything. The warp is usually considered 
best when given either a permanent dark or nankeen color, and it certainly looks 
better than white after the carpet has been used a while. It may be reeled in 
skeins of five knots before coloring, allowing one skein to a yard and about three 
knots over, to be woven in at the end of each breadth, for binding. 

How to Make tlie Breadths. — Measure the inside of the room and 
let the weaver know how long to make each breadth. Carpets will shrink a 
little in length from the weaver's measure after they come out of the loom, but 
will often stretch a little in width. The stripes will match the best, if the edges 
on the same side of the loom are sewed together, as the ditferent sides of the 
loom sometimes vary a little. 

To Clean a Rag* Carpet. — Take some clean warm water in a pail, and 
a clean white cotton or woolen cloth — that you may the better see the progress 
you make — wring out the water every time as dry as you can — proceed to 
rub your carpet with it. If very dirty, a scrub brush and soap may be used. 
You can do so without wetting your carpet through. It must not be wet at all, 
only damp. Shut up doors, open windows ; a day will dry it. 

Ho^v to Mop a Carpet. — Take a clean mop, made of woolen cloth is 
the best, make a little clean warm soap-suds with hard soap, dip in the mop and 
ring half dry, then rub the carpet hard. It will take up the dirt and make an 
old carpet look much better, and will not soil the best. After mopping, rinse 
with clear warm water, using but little, and then wipe with clean, dry mop. 

The best carpet may be mopped in this way, and if dirty greatly improved ia 



MAKING AND CLEANING CARPETS. 539' 

appearance — in truth, made to look as well as new. If there is much green in 
the carpet, put alum in the rinsing water ; it will prevent fading, and make the 
color look brighter. 

To Renew Colors in a Carpet. — A teaspoonful of ammonia in one 
gallon of warm water will often restore the color of carpets, even if damaged 
by acid or alkali. If a ceiling has been whitewashed with carpet down and a 
few drops are visible, this will remove them. Or, after the carpet is well beaten 
and brushed, scour with ox gall, which will not only extract grease, but freshen, 
the colors. 

Put half of a fresh gall in a pail of warm suds and apply with a clean scrub- 
bing brush ; follow with the other half of gall in a pail of pure warm water ; 
apply with a flannel cloth — old underwear is good — and wipe with dry flannel. 
This will make old Brussels carpet look like new. Do not saturate the carpet. 

Care of Stair Carpets. — Where stair paddings are not used, nail some- 
old carpeting on several thicknesses of canvas over the edges of the stairs before 
putting down the carpet. If the material mentioned is not at hand, use folded 
pieces of newspaper. It is a good plan to buy more carpet than is needed to 
qover the stairs, and move it several times each season if much used, so that 
the whole will wear evenly ; if stair carpets cannot be changed in this way they^ 
will not last long. 

Stair carpets should never be swept with a common floor broom ; it is ruinous 
to their good looks and soon wears them out. A small dusting broom should 
be used, taking care not to brush across the warp. After a thorough dusting a 
damp cloth may often be used to good advantage. 

To Remove Tar from Carpets. — A very good material for removing 
tar is butter. Tar is soluble in fat, and especially in butter ; when this is left on 
the tar spot for some time, both butter and tar are easily washed out by a 
sponge, with soap and water. It is the same with resinous wagon grease. 

To Take Orease Out of Carpets. — Cover the grease spot with whit- 
ing, and let it remain until it becomes saturated with the grease ; then scrape it 
off and cover it with another coat of whiting, and if this does not remove the 
grease repeat the apphcation. Three coats of whiting will in most cases remove 
the grease, when it should be brushed off with a clothes brush. 

If the whiting is not at hand put on plenty of flour and do it as soon as pos- 
sible. Put flour on the floor under the oil spot. Next day brush up aU the flour 
from the carpet and floor with a stiff brush, and put on fresh flour. It will 
seldom need it a third time. 

Another Method. — Take the yolk of an egg entirely free from the white ; 
mix it with a little warm water (be sure not to scald the egg), and with a soft 
brush apply the mixture, and rub it on the spot until the grease appears re- 
moved or loose. Wash off the egg with moderately warm water, and finally 
rinse off the whole with clean cold water. Should not all the grease be removed^ 



540 MAKING AND CLEANING CARPETS. 

which may arise from not being sufficiently washed, dry and repeat the opera- 
tion. 

Still Another Method. — To take out small grease spots, a very good 
way is to rub them with white flannel dipped in spirits of turpentine. If they 
show again, repeat the process. Ammonia water is also good, but the dry proc- 
ess is preferable, as washing out is liable to injure adjacent parts. 

Moths in Carpets. — Camphor will not stop the ravages of moths in car- 
pets after they have commenced eating. Then they pay no regard to the pres- 
ence of camphor, cedar or tobacco. A good way to kill them is to take a coarse 
•crash towel and wring it out of clean water. Spread it smoothly on the carpet, 
then iron it dry with a good hot iron, repeating the operation on all suspected 
places and those least used, It does not injure the pile or color of the carpet in 
the least ; it is not necessary to press hard, heat and steam being the agents, 
and they do the work effectually on worms and eggs. The camphor will doubt- 
less prevent future depredations of the miller. 

Taking- Up Carpets. — A lady writer thinks carpets ought to be taken 
up in summer and kept up until fall. She asks, why should we not more gener- 
ally imhate continental custom by painting or polishing our floors? Floors, 
painted or polished, look far prettier in July sunshine than any carpets, which 
are then mere fusty traps to catch dust, harbor insects and retain bad smells. 
^Everything has its use and its seasons. Where it is impossible to paint or 
polish the floors of a house, the employment of matting will be good economy 
in summer, and far cleaner. Matting, too, of charming patterns, may now be 
bought very cheaply, and it keeps a room delightfully cool and fresh. 

How to Sweep a Carpet. — Almost invariably carpets are swept by 
too much pressure upon the broom. Sometimes the operator, with the handle 
inclined backward toward her, presses down as a forward thrust is given, and 
thus throws the heavier dirt half way across the room, while the light particles 
-are sent whirling about, covering, as it settles, every article of furniture. Another 
-wrong way to sweep a carpet is to move the broom forward with a heavy, draw- 
ing stroke, by which the material to be removed is pressed into the carpet rather 
than worked gently along on the surface. 

The right way to sweep is to incline the handle a little forward, then give a 
light drawing stroke, allowing the broom to scarcely touch the carpet. Not 
one half the weight of the broom should be allowed to press on the carpet, as 
the dirt is moved forward. Let the dirt be moved and rolled along lightly. 

If a generous quantity of tea grounds or small bits of wet paper can be 
spread over the carpet before the sweeping is commenced, all the fine dirt will 
adhere to the wet materials. The broom should be a good one, having a long 
elastic brush, then by touching the carpet lightly it will scarce require the strength 
of a child to sweep a large parlor in a few minutes, and the work will be done 
in a most satisfactory manner. 



HOME-MADE RUSTIC WORK. 54I 

HOME-MADE RUSTIC WORK. 



material for Rustic Work, — The lady who has never attempted to 
manufacture any rustic articles cannot appreciate her own ability, and will be 
surprised, after one attempt, to see what she is able to do. In the rural 
districts one is in the m.idst of the very finest of material for home ornamenta- 
tion, and it may be found in any place where trees and vines are permitted to 
grow. 

The twigs and limbs of the spruce, oak, hickory, willow, chestnut, cedar and 
other trees make excellent material, especially the first, and the grape vine, 
either wild or tame, affords another rich source. Then, again, the mossy bark 
of oak, or birch, which may be obtained at any saw mill in regions where these 
trees grow, works handsomely. Lichens and mosses come in and play an 
important part, sometimes, especially in brackets and baskets. Branchlets of yew 
are of such form that they may readily be made into "rustic letters," which, if 
well frosted and placed on a crimson or other vivid ground, are capable of won- 
derfully unique effects. 

Butternut Bracket. — It is not an easy task to make a bracket of but- 
ternuts, but it is very pretty when finished. Get a boy to saw up some of the 
nuts into slices an eighth of an inch thick. You will need forty or fifty pieces. 
Obtain a plain wood bracket of pretty shape, and placing this upon a sheet of 
paper, mark all of its outlines, the back, the shelf and its support, in separate 
places ; pick out all the meat from the butternut slices, also the outer husk, if 
any remains upon the shell; with a stiff nail brush remove all sawdust, or other 
substances ; prepare some liquid glue, and proceed to fit the shells together, 
gluing them by the edges, to form the penciled shapes, not upon the wood 
bracket, butt the edges of the pieces together, to form the shape outlined upon 
the paper. Provide yourself with an immense stock of patience ; it is slow work, 
as you must hold them in place upon a flat surface until the glue is partially 
cooled. 

When this work is done, secure thin, hght strips of wood, glue one strip down 
the middle of the back, two side pieces across the arms, upon which the shelf 
will be attached. This frame would be greatly improved if cut out whole, in 
the form of a slender cross. Glue one strip under the shelf next the bracket ; 
finish it with a light coating of oil or varnish. 

Rustic Vase IStand. — For a stem or standard to the vase, select a 
pronged sapling, the more crooked, gnarled and twisted the better, provided 
the stem below is straight. Gauge the length of the standard according to the 
height desired for the vase, and cut the prongs so that they will rest firmly on the; 
ground as feet, leaving the stem perfectly erect ; peel off all the bark. 



542 



HOME-MADE RUSTIC WORK. 



Rustic Brackets. — Very ornamental brackets may be made from twigs 
and vines alone, or from sticks and a bit of board. To make one of the grape 

vine, use green material and put together 
after the style of the illustration. First make 
a cross of the grape vines, the horizontal 
piece crossing the upright half its length 
from the top. That is, if the cross piece is 
eight inches long, cross the upright four 
inches from the top. The length should be 
double the width. 

For the shelf, a three pronged stick is 
necessary, one part going to the center and 
the two outer prongs to the ends of cross 
piece. The other sticks can be added as 
represented, or a style invented. A few 
grape vine curls left at certain points will add 
to the rustic appearance. The fastenings 
should be of flexible twigs. 

The bracket of sticks and board can be 
made to look very pretty by carrying out 
the design illustrated. This style should not 
be more than six or eight inches wide, and 
not more than one-third deeper than the 
width. The front of the platform is sup- 
ported by two braces, as represented. The 
sticks should be fastened by finishing brads. The lichens found on the sides of 
decaying logs are sometimes very pretty, and well adapted for making the 




RUSTIC GRAPK VINE BRACKET. 




RUSTIC STICK AND BOARD BRACKET. 



bracket shelf. They should be dried, however, before attaching the sticks. 
After all is completed, in a mechanical way, a good coat of coach varnish gives 
the finishing touch. 



HOME-MADE RUSTIC WORK. 543 

Rustic ^Vooden Bowl Vase. — For the vase itself, take a wooden bowl 
of any desired size and ornament it by tacking on roots and knots after the 
fashion of rustic baskets. The roots and branches of the wild grape vine and 
the green briar, as it is commonly called, are excellent for this purpose, also the 
roots of the briar rose. 

Use small brads for tacking. When ornamented, nail the bowl to the top of 
the stem and twist grape vines around the stem and through the prongs, mak- 
ing the whole affair as knotted and fantastical as possible. Varnish the whole 
with copal varnish, and if a darker hue than the natural wood is wanted, take 
two ounces of gum asphaltum dissolved in a half pint of turpentine or coal oil, 
and apply with a paint brush before varnishing. 

Rustic Rox Vase, — To make another vase, get a neat, strong box made 
of smoothly planed beech or maple or oak. In the center of each of the four 
sides tack on pine cones (the scales on the under side being removed so that 
the cones will lie flat), in any design you may fancy. At the four corners sus- 
pend a large pine cone like a tassel. This can be done by winding one end of 
a wire about the stem cf the cone and bringing the other end up through a gim- 
let hole in the box, and clinching it on the inside. Or else string sweet-gum 
balls or acorns on a wire and festoon the bottom edge of the box by driving in 
small nails at intervals, and leaving the heads slightly out, so that the wire may 
be hung thereon and twisted once around ; mount this on a standard as before, 
and varnish. These two vases are suitable for the house, balcony or lawn. 

Rustic RarR Vase. — Bark vases are easily made, and none are more 
exquisitely rustic. Take any rough box and cover it with perpendicular strips 
of bark, fastening them with brads. Poplar bark is good, as it is not too thick 
or too thin, cuts easily without splitting, is shaggy yet cleanly, and does not 
harbor insects. 

After the bark is all fastened on ornament it with clusters of lichens and 
tufts of the dry gray bearded moss which grows on old trees. Occasionally, 
lichens may be found growing in clusters like mottled gray roses ; one brad 
through the center will fasten them to the box, and your eyes will rest as lovingly 
upon these everlastings as upon the growing greenery. The bearded moss can 
be strung upon fine wire or stout cord and hung around the bottom of the box 
m graceful, feathery festoons. 

HoAV to Mount a Vase. — These bark vases may be mounted on a 
pronged standard with the bark left on. Or if pronged saplings are scarce, take 
a straight, round stick about three inches in diameter, with the bark on, and the 
more mossy the better ; sharpen one end and drive firmly into the ground and 
nail the vase on the top of the other end. Ornament the stem by nailing on 
mossy branches which extend up to the bottom edge of the box and are then 
fastened. These bark vaser. look well on the ground without any stem or 
pedestal. 



544 HOME-MADE RUSTIC WORK. 

The Log Cabin Vase. — What I call log cabin vases are simple and 
pretty. Take sticks of beech, maple or other wood, about an inch thick, and cut 
into lengths of ten, twelve or more inches. A gimlet hole must be bored an 
inch from each end of the sticks. Put them together log cabin fashion,. 
one stick extending over the other ; fasten them by passing a wire with a loop 
on the upper end through the holes at each corner, and through corresponding 
holes in an inch board bottom and clinch them on the under side. Mount these- 
vases like the preceding ones, and line with green moss before filling. 

IVillo^v Twig- Vase. — Still another pretty vase may be made of willov^ 
twigs. Gather them and weave them mto a round, open sided basket, like those 
old fashioned work baskets that our grandmothers kept their balls for darning 
in. The bark must be left on, consequently they will be rough and probably 
irregular in shape, but that does not matter. Mount and line with moss. 

To Fill a Vase. — For filling these vases, all the basket plants which 
do well out doors are suitable — abronia, sweet alyssum, lobelia, mignonnette, 
mimulus, tropaeolums, verbenas, petunias, pansies, candytuft, the ivies, portu- 
lacas, and for center plants, begonias, geraniums, amaranths, etc. A layer 
of charcoal should be placed in the bottom of the vase, and the soil should be a 
good rich loam. To be perfectly satisfactory, the vases should be made ready 
at once, and the cuttings and seeds started in the house, so that the vases may 
be filled as soon as the weather will permit. 

Wood Pile Boxes. — A very handsome box, of any size, may be made by 
the following process : " First pile a number of straight twigs together evenly,, 
gluing each one firmly in place as you lay it on, until the piles are of the required 
size. When the glue is thoroughly dry, saw the pile through crosswise, that is, 
across the end, in slices, until you have a number of sheets of what, for the- 
present purpose, maybe called log veneering, as it resembles the end of a pile of 
logs. Now take a plain pine wood box, paint ihe inside or line it with tinfoil or 
fancy paper or silk, and cover its top and ends with split spruce glued on side 
by side. Then cover the front and back of the box with the log veneering" 
already described, and the effect will be that of a little pile of logs. 

" Upright braces can be placed at the two ends of the pile to complete 
the resemblance to a cord of wood ; scraps of gray and green lichen may be 
glued on as taste may suggest. Of course, care must be taken to make the 
direction of the split spruce correspond appropriately with the position of the 
veneering, and when necessary, the front and back edges of the lid also should 
be covered with the veneering. For match safes, the cover can be simply a pine 
piece, of just the size of the opening, covered on its under side with sand paper, 
and on its upper side with spruce twigs, the projecting ends of which will hold 
it in place." 

Upriglit Match Stands. — "Take a toy churn, such as is sold in the 
shops for two or three cents, and cover it with split spruce, tying it around about 



HOME-MADE RUSTIC WORK. 



545 



one-third from the top with a band of split spruce or of grape vine bark ; handles 
can be placed at the sides, and ornamental bits of moss and lichens added. The 
cover of the churn, if left on, should be cut away inside, so as to leave the 
requisite opening for the matches. It can be neatly lined if any one prefers 
it, but is not at all necessary. 

Ru§tie Paper Rack. — " Cedar is the best material to use, its rough 
bark and many knots rendering it especially picturesque. A rustic music rack 
or newspaper stand can be made of five stout cedar canes, the knots cut close 
or nearly so, and the bark peeled off. Cross four of the canes, two and two, 
making two Roman XX's ; connect these by a fifth and a shorter cane, and 
fasten them together with long, slender screws. Varnish the frame in the nat- 
ural color, or stain black to represent ebony, as you prefer. 

" The ends should be left open, but the sides, if you choose, may be filled in 
with sheets of birch, or hemlock, or other flexible bark ; or, better still, with 
stout gray linen or canvas bound with colored braid, lined with colored flannel 
to match, and with some quaint design, or else your monogram applique in flan- 
nel in the center of each side. In miniature this stand will serve as a letter or 
card rack, the sides in such case being of fancy cardboard worked in bright 
wool." 





OPEN FRAME EASEL. 



CLOSE FRAME EASEL. 



Rustic Easels.— Easels, from a size large enough to hold a card up to 
dimensions sufficient to support a large engraving or painting, are always pretty 
and appropriate. Some of the home manufactured articles are more attractive 
than some of those purchased, for the rustic character is peculiarly fitting in way 
of contrast to most rooms. 

For a small support one may be made after the plan of illustration. The slim 
shoots of the fir tree with their full buds, which have made their appearance at 



546 



HOME-MADE RUSTIC WORK. 




the end of June and beginning of July, after having been dried in the stove, may 
be turned to account for this style of work. To make 
the support, use four long bars crossing each other at 
the top, and two short ones going from point to point 
at the top, and four at the bottom forming a square. 
As a hold for the picture above and below a second 
square bar is put. The size of the latter corresponds 
with that of the picture. The long bars are about 
eight inches long ; they are fastened together with pins 
as well as the ornamental ones. The knotty ends are 
perceptible on the latter ; to complete the one end 
they are cut off short and a pin is stuck into them to fasten them to the other 
bars. 

Spruce twigs make very excellent material for rustic work. When cutting 
them, use only for surface finish such as have the terminating budding ends, 
as they make a tasteful finish wherever used. Fir and other trees furnish ma- 
terial nearly or quite as pretty if care is exercised in making a collection. In 
the accompanying engravings I give three styles made of spruce sticks. The 
open frame may have a back support or stand upon a table inclined against the 
wall, the picture suspended from the top or rest upon light pins put in at the 



RUSTIC PICTURE SUPPORT. 





SUPPORT FOE AN EASEL. 



THREE ARCH KASEX. 



proper place. The close frame easel may be used in same manner ; generally, 
however, the back support is preferable. The three arch easel is one of the 
most beautiful made in rustic v/ork. It is not at all difficult to construct one. 
By closely patterning after the engraving, or even approximating it, one will be 
well satisfied with the effort. 



HOME-MADE RUSTIC WORK. 547 

To hold the twigs together where they cross each other, small finishing 
brads are much better in my opinion than binding with any kind of material. 
Carpet tacks should not be used, as the heads are large and unsightly, and the 
tacks taper so much that they will split the sticks when driven. The support 
should be attached at the double cross bars near the top by means of bits of 
annealed wire and loose enough to turn for adjustment. The small end of the 
support is to rest upon the table. Two parallel sticks at the base are sufficient to 
make the bottom rest for the picture. These are to be held by brads, and braces 
added if one chooses. 

To Make a Ru§tic Cro§§. — Have cut two inch boards, one six and 
three-quarter, and the other four and three-quarter inches square. The smaller 
is fastened to center of larger as a base for the cross. Next have cut two sticks 
of, three-quarter inch stuff, one and one-fourth inches wide, for the cross. The 
uprights should be ten inches long, and the other five and a half. Cross the 
two pieces three inches from end of long piece. Set cross in center of base, 
then cover the whole by gluing on gray beech moss. 

Rustic Flo\%'er Box. — A description is given by a contributor to the 
press, of a rustic box very simple in construction. The box is twenty-seven 
inches long and twenty-one inches wide, sloping to the bottom on all sides. It 
is made of pine boards, and covered with bark, which is neatly joined and fitted 
and tightly nailed on. The top is finished with a strip of bark around the edge, 
and, where required, moss is glued on to cover slight defects. It is charming 
as it stands in the south window, with its wealth of green, made more lovely by 
the contrast with the mossy bark, and the beautiful handle of Nature's own 
curving, over which the vines twine so gracefully, with a crowning grape vine 
handle, and a standard of fanciful chestnut boughs 

Rustic Bird's IVest. — Select a piece of wood about the size of an ordi- 
nary bracket and see that it has a convex surface. The more irregularly shaped 
it is, the prettier, only so that its general contour resembles the outline of a 
bracket. The piece should be three or four inches thick through the center^ 
Dampen some lichens, and with these cover the convex surface, fastening them 
on with small tacks. Hide the heads of the tacks and the spaces between the 
lichens with little sprays of green moss. 

Now you should have a last 3-ear's bird's nest — which is, of course, not com- 
plete without the eggs — and somewhere near the center of the top of your knot 
of wood there should be a hollow to receive it. Just above the nest and over- 
hanging it tack a crooked twig on which to perch a stuffed bird. Suspend the 
whole with a moss covered cord, and you have a unique rustic ornament that 
will not fail to recompense you for the work of making, and will be sure to 
elicit the admiration of all lovers of forest beauties. In case a piece of wood 
of the desired shape and size cannot be obtained, pasteboard wnll answer for 
a foundation. 



54^ BEDS AND THEIR COVERING. 

BEDS AND THEIR COVERING. 



Corn IIu§R Sed. — For an under bed corn husks are much to be pre- 
ferred to straw, for they will not become so compact after use and will wear 
much longer. One important feature is to secure the husks in proper condition. 
As soon as the husks are taken from the corn, before any mold or other harm 
comes to them, take the fairest and best leaves, free from all stalks, silk, etc., 
and spread them out to dry in some large, airy room, stirring them well every 
fair day for a month, or till they are perfectly dry. As they shrink somewhat, a 
good supply should be secured of fresh husks. Don't split the leaves ; they do 
not become flat and solid as many suppose, but curl up and make the mass light. 

A husk mattress is suitable for both summer and winter use, and at all times 
healthy. Wool mattresses are liable to become infested with moths. Where 
feather beds are used, they may be put above the husks in cold weather and be- 
low in hot. 

Husk beds have something of medical value. In many cases of injuries and 
of diseases a hard bed is vastly superior to feathers ; and as comparatively few 
families have mattresses, a bed every way as good as these may be quickly made 
for the occasion by putting the feather bed at the bottom, the husk bed above, 
and a comforter or other thick quilt over this. As a great remedial agent, 
then, every family should have one husk bed, and one is sure to bring several 
others. 

Airing' Featlier Beds. — For beds which have been in only occasional 
use for a year, a day's airing on a sunny, breezy day, and a thorough beating 
with a stick are all sufficient ; but those which have been in constant service for 
considerable time require the application of water in some manner. People 
who have access to an establishment where this business is done by machinery, 
generally prefer to avail themselves of it, and by paying a couple of dollars have 
the task taken off their hands. But for those who must do the renovating at 
home, there are three modes of procedure. 

"Washing Featlaer Beds.— One method of washing is a thorough im- 
mersion and cleansing of the whole bed in hot water; and this is perhaps the 
preferable mode for very thin beds, especially if the tick is soft and pKable. Of 
course they remain damp a long time, but there is no danger of mildew if they 
are frequently stirred and shaken. 

IVasMng Featlier Ticks. — The second method is to empty the tick of 
its contents, washing only the former. This is a much more laborious task, 
even, than the other, as will be vouched for by any one who has had experience 
of the "discursive" nature of feathers when freed from confinement. This 
mode need seldom, if ever, be resorted to, if good care and cleanliness are 
habitually exercised. 



BEDS AND THEIR COVERING. 549 

Washing- 8pots on Feather Becl§. — An ordinary method is to take 
the bed out upon clean grass, and in a large tub of hot suds, draw up and wash 
such portions of the tick as need it — or the whole — without much wetting of 
the feathers. When this is done lay the bed flat upon the grass, and through 
the watering pot sprinkle it with, say, from two to four pails of water, turning 
it, that both sides may share ahke. There is no danger of their becoming musty 
or mildewed before drying. And it is surprising how light and sweet a bed or 
pillows will become after the process. 

A thorough drenching in a spring shower is equally efficacious, and they will 
dry rapidly with a little sunshine, or even without it, if frequently turned and 
shaken, or if spread in successive dry places as they drain. Some regard a 
heavy spring shower as the very best feather renovator known. 

j^umniering- Feather Heds. — For keeping through the summer it is the 
best way to hang them over a line, or tie them loosely in a sheet or old blanket, 
to be hung up in an airy closet or unused chamber. To pack them in a chest, 
or to flatten them under a summer mattress is a great detriment to feather beds. 

Casing- Feather Beds.— For preserving bed-ticks that are in common 
use from dust and soil, it is an excellent practice to inclose them in a case of 
" sleazy" unbleached muslin. Have the case a little larger than the bed and 
sew it up on both sides and at the top. Let it be open at the bottom, but held 
together by three or four buttons. This can be easily removed and washed. 
Many have adopted the plan of " casing" their mattresses also in this way. 
Musquito netting, if not too thin, may serve a very good purpose, in place of 
factory muslin. 

To Prevent Feathers IVorking Through Ticks. — Empty the 
feathers from your tick, turn it wrong side out, and lay it on your table. Then 
with a piece of beeswax slightly warmed rub the tick thoroughly, giving the 
entire surface a slight coat of the wax. The best way, however, is to secure 
ticking so firm that you will not be bothered by the protrusion of feathers. 

To "Wash a Blanket. — ^Let it soak overnight in a tub of water, first 
dissolving two large tablespoonfuls of borax and about a pint of soap in the 
water. The night's soaking removes nearly all of the dirt, so that no very hard 
rubbing is required in the morning. After it has drained from the suds, 
rinse it thoroughly in two waters and hang it up to dry. Never wring blankets, 
as it shrinks and draws them more than anything else. 

The rubbing water should be just hot enough to make it comfortable to 
the hands. It is not only for woolen goods that borax is useful. It is much to 
be preferred to soda for whitening cottons, linens and laces. One tablespoon- 
ful of it in powder thrown into four or five gallons of boiling water will save 
half the ordinary allowance of soap. 

For washing woolen bed blankets, use soap in which there is no resin. Resin 
hardens the fibers of wool, and should never be used in washing any kind of 



550 BEDS AND THEIR COVERING. 

flannel goods. Blankets should be as soft and nappy when they come in from 
the clothes line as when they came from the store. 

Airings ISlaiiket^. — A practical housewife says : " I find it an excellent 
plan every week or two to hang blankets and other bedding on the clothes line 
and let them have all the atmospheric benefits of a clear, breezy day. One's 
sleep is so refreshing if the bed is fresh. Woolens especially are great absorb- 
ents, and though they do not look soiled as linens and cottons do, they need a 
bath of air and sun as often as linens do of water." 

To Malie a Bed Comfort. — A lady contributor says : '' I want to tell 
you about a bed comfort we sleep under — the prettiest, warmest thing I ever 
saw in my life. It was made of white cotton flannel and knotted with blue Ber- 
lin wool of a delicate shade. The contrast between the soft, white plush flan- 
nel and the fleecy tassels of the wool was exquisite. The under side of the com- 
fort was first put in the frames, fleecy part down, five or six pounds of batting 
evenly laid on it, a thin covering spread over that, and the whole quilted or 
knotted with white thread to keep the cotton in place ; then the upper covering 
had the blue tassels tied in. 

" This has been made for several years, but was not in the least soiled ; and 
with a single blanket was ample covering, though there were three feet of snow 
on the ground, and the mercury was below zero twenty degrees. In summer 
it is folded in a sheet and laid carefully away." 

Cheap Hed Spreads. — Very pretty bed spreads and pillow shams may 
be made out of coarse white cotton netting. Make the spread and shams of 
the exact size required, and work in white embroidery cotton in some simple 
design. A large monogram is usually worked in the center of the spread and 
also the shams. Blue or pink silesia or cambric is placed on the bed and pil- 
lows before putting on the covers, and bows of satin ribbon of the same color 
ornament the shams. 

To Cover a C^uiit. — When the outsides of a comfortable or bed quilt 
have become tattered, if it is not so heavy that an extra covering will make it 
burdensome, it is a good plan to renew it in this fashion : First, wash it as 
clean as possible. If it dries somewhat streaky, no matter ; that it shall be thor- 
oughly sweetened is the main object, and no amount of exposure to the air or 
beating with a stick will accomplish this in the case of an old, long used com- 
fortable. 

Trim off the tatters of the old covering, have the new in readiness — dark is 
the best thing — and tack it oTi in the way log cabin patchwork is done ; that 
is, holding the quilt up in your lap or on a table front of you, commencing at 
the nearest edge, folding the cloth back toward you. Then baste or tack with 
strong thread the wrong side of the covering to the quilt, making the stitches 
short on the right side, and as long upon the wrong side as you think consist- 
ent with a firm holding together. 



BEDS AND THEIR COVERING. 551 

When you have gone the length of the quilt, fold over another portion, say six 
or eight inches wide, and tack again, just as you would a block of log cabin 
patchwork, only that the cloth is all in one piece instead of in strips and no 
corners to be turned. When one side is finished, do the other in the same way 
W^hen this covering becomes soiled, it can be ripped from the quilt in five min- 
utes and ready for the wash, while if elaborately knotted or quilted the task be 
comes quite formidable. 

Cliaff or Paper Pillo^ivs. — Dr)^ oat chaff or white printing paper, cut 
fine, makes excellent pillows for infants and sick people. They are soft, cool 
and healthy, which cannot always be said of feather pillows. 

Pillow Slips. — A very pretty pillow slip is produced by having the case 
just the size of the pillow in breadth and length ; then cut the edges at the open 
end into deep points, each side ahke and points directly opposite, and finish with 
embroidery. On one set of points sew linen or small pearl buttons and work 
button holes on the opposite points, so that the two may be fastened together. 
To complete the work, cover the pillow with a tight fitting case made of silk 
with a full puff at the end to show between the points of embroidery, after put- 
ting on the slip. In place of the silk case, an end piece for economy may be 
put on, made of silk, with a puff, and fastened to the pillow tick. 

liOg Cabin Quilt. — " Procure three contrasting colors, for instance, 
red, black and green, of any woolen material which you desire ; it will take as 
much of the red and black as for the ordinary way of making, the quantity de- 
pending on the size. A half yard of the green will be sufficient, as it requires 
little ; also some half worn calico. This, cut into blocks ten inches square, 
which will form the foundation. 

*^ Now take a bit of green one and one-half inches square, and pin it on the 
calico exactly in the center. Here will be the starting point. Cut the red and 
black cloth into strips one inch in width. Sew a piece of the red strip as long 
as the little green square on the opposite sides of it, making the stitches go 
through the calico just as you would in making folds ; afterward turn back 
these strips toward the edge of the calico and pin them to keep them straight. 

" Now take of the black two strips, each as long as the green square and the 
ends of the red strips already sewed on. These are to be sewed on the remain- 
ing ends of the green square, making them extend along the ends of the red 
strips. Turn these back in like manner as you did the red ; thus every time you 
will cover up the seam. Now, again, a strip of the red must be sewed on the 
red, having it extend along the black ends, and then a black strip must likewise 
be sewed on to the black and across the red ends, and so continue using color 
about until the calico block is all covered, when it will be finished. When turn- 
ing back the strips leave them full, so as to imitate quilting, as you quilt and 
piece both at once. 

" After making enough blocks for a quilt, join them together to suit your fancy. 



552 ORNAMENTAL AND USEFUL BOXES. 

either putting the red sides together or red and black alternately. The v/hole 
quilt is made of these blocks without anything else. This is an excellent way 
to use up delaine or merino dresses which are partly worn ; they will last a great 
while made after this pattern." 

Counterpane in Shell Work. — Cast on forty-four stitches. First 
time across knit plain ; second time across put over thread, knit two together, 
repeat, repeat, etc. ; third time across knit plain ; fourth time across knit five 
narrow, rest seam or purl, only last six plain ; sixth time across knit five narrow, 
rest plain ; seventh time across knit five narrow, rest purl all but the last six 
stitches, those plain ; so on alternately purling and knitting the middle, except 
change every five times across so as to make stripes crosswise of five rows knit 
and five purled. Always put over thread and take off the first stitch without 
knitting, then knit four, and narrow the sixth and seventh stitches together ; at 
the last end knit six plain. 

Catole Border for Counterpane. — Cast on twenty-four stitches. 
First, knit plain across ; second, knit six plain, purl twelve, knit six ; third, knit 
plain across ; fourth, knit six plain, purl twelve, knit six ; fifth, knit plain across ; 
and so on till you have knit fourteen times across, then knit six, take off six on 
a third needle, knit the next six, then twist around the six taken off on a needle 
and knit them, knit the next six plain ; repeat all this. 



ORNAMENTAL AND USEFUL BOXES. 



JBox for Newspapers. — A cheap box for newspapers may be made of 
an old pasteboard silk hat box. One that tapers from top downward and oval 
shaped is best. Cut down the sides of the box, leaving a little more than half 
the breadth at top and a little less than one-half at the bottom ; that is, cut 
away a portion of the box so that it will set flat against the wall. Fit in a back 
made of the cover, leaving what extension there may be above to fasten by. 
Round the extension off nicely, or make in any shape that pleases your fancy, 
and sew the same in. Putting in corners all the way around of cloth well pasted, 
and putting in wire at top firmly sewed in place, makes the box stiff and more 
durable. It is now ready to ornament. 

Taste may be exercised in covering with colored paper, or small figured wall 
paper and pictures pasted in front, heads surrounded with wreaths, bouquets, 
etc. ; the edges should be bound with a contrasting color, gilt, velvet bordering, 
or scallops and points ; hang with three strings, if not wired, one in front, and 
two on sides of front, close to back ; hang with long cords, near the ceiling, like 
a picture, but a little lower for convenience. If a wire runs up from around the 



ORNAMENTAL AND USEFUL BOXES. 553, 

top along the edge of the back stitched on, or covered by cloth, well pasted, the 
basket may be suspended by a nail and the use of cords not required. 

Windo^v Flower Boxes. — For window flowers, the box may be of tin 
painted green, or of common white pine, stained and oiled, with a strip of mold- 
ing, or a few lichens and fir cones tacked on by way of ornament. Or prettier 
still, it may be turned into a rustic affair by covering it with narrow horizontal 
lengths of rough barked wood. Birch boughs or laurel, or both alterna,tmg, will 
answer, halved lengthwise with the saw, and cut into sections to fit the box, the 
shelf which supports it being edged with the same. Or a gaily colored affair 
may be made with narrow strips of oil-cloth, finished otf with a wooden moldmg 
at top and bottom, a set pattern being chosen of bright solid colors, like the 
tiles which are so much in vogue for more expensive arrangements. 

Little Propagating Box. — All that is necessary is a small wooden box 
a little higher at one side than the other, with sides sloping to match, covered 
with glass, and have two inches of sand in the bottom. The sand must be kept 
constantly wet, the glass always on, and the box put in the shade where sunlight 
will not fall upon it. The tight glass keeps the inside of the box moist, so that 
the cuttings never wilt. Plants, however, so treated, require to be shaded until 
started in pots ; for if taken from the close box and put at once into the hot sun,, 
they would wilt. 

Bedroom Box. — Procure a shoe box from a store, and after hinging the 
top board, cover with chintz calico, with a cushion on top, to contain materials 
to be made up. It will be found pretty and handy. Such boxes are conven- 
ient to have in bedrooms, answering the double purpose of receptacles for 
various articles, and seats for children. 

A Toilet Box. — Procure a box eight or ten inches square with cover 
hinged, no odds how plain ; a boy can make one. The only essential point is to 
have it symmetrical and firm. Quilted or puffed satin makes a pretty lining. 
Pink and blue are most suitable colors. Cover the sides and top with puffed 
satin, or rather satin puffs. A frill of lace may hang over the puffs on the sides 
and a block of lace cover the top. 

Handkereliief Box. — A very pretty box for keeping handkerchiefs in 
may be made of a cigar box or a letter paper box that opens in the center. To 
make one of the cigar box, line the mside with pale blue or pink silk, by pasting 
on with flour paste. Cover the outside with pale blue quilted satin, with the 
monogram on the cover in blue and pink embroidery silk. To make from a 
letter box, use a tufted cushion on top of satin and put an insertion of white lace 
around it with the same color underneath. The sides may be covered with satin 
glued or pasted on, and the comers or edges finished by handsome cord ; 
silver or gilt looks best. 

Another and elegant design is given by Jenny June, which is to take an ordi- 
nary box, cover it with black satin, on the lid paint a design in water colors. 



554 ORNAMENTAL AND USEFUL BOXES. 

or transfer a picture, having the principal flowers of blue and crimson. Around 
the sides put antique lace and finish the edges of the box with a silk cord cor- 
responding with the colors of flowers. The inside of the box is lined with 
quilted satin and a quilHng of ribbon used to cover the unfinished edges. For 
the feet and knobs, use large gilt beads, strung on coarse linen thread, and a 
tiny bead to hold the thread in place. 

Portable Flower Box. — Have a box made a foot and a half wide, fif- 
teen inches deep and as long as the window of your house is wide. The box 
should be made of pine, flaring, so as to be four or five inches wider at the top 
than at the bottom. Have it mounted upon legs long enough to bring top of 
box even with window sill. It may be painted, stained or covered with sticks 
on outside, so as to have a rustic appearance. In this case, the sticks will look 
better to be split in half and scraped white and varnished. If the sticks are 
used, first border the edges and then form into panels. See page 121. 

The inside of the box should be thoroughly painted to prevent the wood ab- 
sorbing moisture. " Over the bottom is spread a three inch layer of bits of 
broken flower pots or small stones, and on this is set a double row of pots, or 
as many as will stand evenly on the surface. Then a thick layer of sand is 
poured over the broken pieces, and the rest of the space filled up with earth till 
it is even with the tops of the flower pots. 

"In the bed thus formed bulbs and slips are planted between the pots, and 
vines are started at the corners. When the latter are well under way, wires, 
on which the vines twist, are fastened diagonally from corner to corner, form- 
ing a beautiful green arch over what seems to be a bed taken bodily from the 
garden. Sometimes a tiny hanging basket, or an ivy growing in water, is hung 
from where the wires cross in the arch." 

Parlor Wood Box. — Secure a box of appropriate size, one that is stout, 
and ornament in one of the three following ways, as time and means will per- 
mit : Cover with satin wall paper of pretty pattern, with sticks, as directed for 
portable flower box, or with a dark patterned fine floor matting. To finish the 
edge when matting is used, tack on either a black walnut or gilt molding, then 
trim with lambrequins made of light brown cloth or felt, worked in crewel or 
silk in the Kensington stitch, in any design one may choose. When the em- 
broidery is finished, press lightly on wrong side. This box may also be used 
for other purposes. 

Collar Box. — Take either a round or square box of suitable size, line the 
inside with silk or satin, then cover the outside with plush or velvet, glued to 
the edges. Before putting the plush on the lid, embroider a small spray of 
flowers in Kensington, or make the flowers of ribbon and do the foliage in ara- 
sene. Plush or velvet makes a rich covering without the embroidery, and merely 
an artistic bow of satin ribbon on one comer. Handkerchief and glove boxes 
may be covered in same manner. 



CHEAP AND ORNAMENTAL BASKETS. 555 

CHEAP AND ORNAMENTAL BASKETS. 



Ba§ket. — Hanging baskets in certain locations are 
highly ornamental, and as they are easily constructed there is no excuse for not 
having them. 

To make a wire basket, take common wire, or the hoops of a skirt, if they 
are to be had, and cut them mto lengths, so that when formed into sections 
they will make links m the shape of a figure 8, seven inches long. Forty of 
these will be required. Then make nme of same shape four and one-half inches 
long, and the material is ready to put together. In making the sections, the 
ends are brought together and lapped in the center, where they are secured by 
winding with strong thread. 

Use sixteen of the long sections to make the front and back, nine in each, 
three on each end, and the nine short ones for the bottom. This completes the 
body of the basket. To make the handle use eight sections put together thus : 




FORM OF BASKET HANDLE. 



Attach to the top edge of the basket in the center, then as a support to the 
front, tie the ends of two links together and attach to the center section of the 
front, and to the center of the middle upper link. 

For ornament, use the remaining six links to hang upon the wall beneath the 
basket, put together after the manner of the handle, four above and two below. 
To give strength or stiffness to the basket, strips of hoop spring may be bound 
upon the front and back, in the center of the links ; this, however, is a matter 
of no great importance, and may be put on or left off as desired. 

The size of the basket may be varied to suit the taste ; I only give dimensions 
to show good proportions. The handle may be made of six pieces, three at the 
bottom, two of the smaller size above them, and then one still smaller at the 



556 



CHEAP AND ORNAMENTAL BASKETS. 



top. The support made in the same way looks well, some preferring it to the 
two links. When complete, paint some lively or delicate color ; pea green 
looks nicely. 

Rustic Hang-iiig- Basket. — Rustic baskets are easily made of sticks of 

the oak or maple tree, choosing those of the size 
of a man's thumb, cutting them into equal 
lengths of eight, ten or twelve inches, according 
to size of basket desired. Then build your bas- 
ket like a log hut or a log pen. Nail these sticks 
firmly in place. Heat a wire and thrust it through 
the ends of each top stick, and bend it into a 
loop. Through these loops pass your strings to 
hang your basket by. A wooden bottom should 
be carefully nailed in. 

Cocoanut Hang^ing^ Basket. — Cut off 
one-third of the upper or small end of the cocoa- 
nut, take out the meat and drill three holes,, 
equal distances apart, near the top edge. Sus- 
pend with scarlet cord or wire. 

^hell Hang^iii^ Basket. — The hand- 
somest little hanging baskets that I have ever 
had for parlor windows were made of cup 
shaped sea shells. The ear pearl shells are the 
prettiest, because of the beautiful variety of col- 
ors in the pearl. The shell is suspended by 
means of fine copper wire passed through holes 
bored near the top edge. This wire will not 
rust, and is much better than cord, which decays and breaks by reason of the 
constant moisture. 

I fill the shell with rich loam and plant in it lycopodium, which is a species 
of running moss, showing a rich bluish green color on its upper side, and a 
clear green on the under. This is much prettier than what is called lycopo- 
dium moss, a plant of similar structure, but lacks the lovely variegated hue of 
lycopodium proper. Either of these will flourish in a shell and in a short time 
be of sufficient length to twine around the wires and hang over the sides. 
Shower it abundantly, as constant moisture is an essential requisite to its growth 
and richness of color. 

If the hanging shell be kept in a room during winter where the temperature 
is not allowed to go below fifty degrees, the lycopodium will thrive nicely. This 
plant does not require strong sunlight and thrives best where it will not get the 
direct rays of the sun. 

For convenience I have a cord hung from a nail in the upper casing of the 




RUSTIC HANGING BASKET. 



CHEAP AND ORNAMENTAL BASKETS. 557 

Avindow, and in the center from side to side. This cord extends down to within 
easy reach, and at the end a small ring is attached. At the terminus of the 
three suspending wires is a little hook ; this is placed in the ring, making a very 
convenient arrangement for taking down the shell to water the plants. When 
suspended, the basket hangs about the center of the lower sash. 

Wire "Wall Basket. — -Cut wires into pieces about twenty inches in length ; 
have them all of the same length ; then join the ends together, lapping them 
about half an inch and fasten them with strong thread ; then fasten the sides 
together as represented in the cut. Twenty-three of these for a basket can be 
used, or you can have it larger if you wish. 




WIRE SECTION OF WALL BASKET. 



To make the bottom of the basket, begin by taking four of those loops place 
them side by side, and fasten them firmly together. For the back, take four 
and fasten them to the four at the bottom ; next take three and put together in 
the same way, and fasten to the four ; next take two, then one, and fasten them 
all together. 

For the front, take four of the loops and fasten to the bottom ; then take three 
and fasten to the four. Put one of those loops at each end, fasten it to the bot- 
tom and also to the back and front. You can have a loop from the middle of 
the three in front, up to the one at the top of the back. 

Imitation Coral Basket. — Take covered wire or the hoops of skirts, 
with covering left on, bend into shapes as illustrated, or other desirable forms ; 
tie with wrapping twine, with ends of the twine left one-fourth of an inch long; 
cover the basket when formed with knots or ties about one inch apart all over 
the basket. Then take half a pound of beeswax, melt in a shallow pan, stir in 
enough Japanese vermilion to get the color you wish ; then roll the basket in the 



55S 



CHEAP AND ORNAMENTAL BASKETS. 



melted wax until it is covered completely. One made in this way is very attract- 
ive, and will stand exposure and water for a long time. 

Wooden Bo^vl Haiig'iiig' Basket. — Common chopping bowls of small 
size, ornamented with gnarled roots, pine cones, acorns, beans, etc., either fast- 
ened on with brads or with waterproof glue, and finished with a coating of car- 
riage varnish, are easily manufactured, and when suspended with colored cords 
fastened through holes in the sides, and covered with twining plants, they are 
very attractive. The basket should be well filled, as illustrated, to be highly 
satisfactory. 




ORNAMENTED BOWL HANGING BASKET. 



A wooden bowl can be ornamented with scales of the long pine cones. Each 
scale can be nailed on with upholsterers' tacks, first boring the holes, and after 
the bowl is then covered, varnish with brown varnish. Even the varnish can be 
made at home, if one chooses. Buy two or three ounces of asphaltum and dis- 
solve it in turpentine or kerosene, making it lighter or darker as one desires, by 
adding more or less of the asphaltum. 

Wooden bowls, such as have been used in butter making or chopping mince 
meat, and become cracked or worn through, as well as three quart pans, can be 
used, and if one does not care to go to the trouble of nailing on ornaments, they 
may be painted a vermilion red or chrome green. Holes should be punched in 
the bottoms of the tin vessels, if they are used, before they are painted, and also 



CHEAP AND ORNAMENTAL BASKETS. 559 

at three points equal distances apart near the rim, the first to allow escape for 
surplus water, and the latter to receive the suspending wires. 

Olass Ilaiig^iiig Basket.— Broken goblets and tumblers can be made 
into very pretty ornaments for the window by crocheting a bag of zephyr to 
suspend them in. The stem of the broken goblet should be taken off up as 
close to the base of the bowl as possible. The less work put upon the crocheted 
bag the prettier it will be. Have a handsome cord to suspend it by, and a tassel 
at the bottom, if you choose. 

Bird's :^est Basket. — Get a firmly built and pretty bird's nest; sus- 
pend with fancy cords, to which moss has been fastened, then put eggs in the 
nest and perch a stuffed bird on the edge. 

ILeg Hangings Basket.— Where a large basket is desired, a nail keg or 
butter firkin may be sawed in two and used. The outer surface may be orna- 
mented by roots or limbs sawed in half and nailed on, and the inside should be 
thoroughly smeared with coal tar to protect the wood from speedy decay. Let 
several holes be bored in the bottom for the purpose of ventilating the soil, and 
to furnish an outlet for surplus water. Suspend with three strong wires center- 
ing at one spot at point of suspension. 

To Fill a Hanging- Basket. — To prepare a wire basket, the interstices 
should be filled with moss — that which grows on old stumps is preferable — 
place a bit of coarse sponge at the bottom to retain the moisture, over that lay 
a piece of coarse muslin, then fill up the basket with rich soil and plant the 
vines. A sprinkling of pure bone dust over the surface of the soil once a month 
will make the plants flourish vigorously. Sometimes it is desirable to place in 
the center of the basket a small crock containing a showy upright plant, and in 
that case fill up the surrounding space with rich wood and old hot-bed soil ; fill 
in with plants of a climbing or trailing habit ; when the center fades you can 
replace it by a fresh plant. In filling a basket select plants of a similar nature — 
such as like shade and moisture. 

Care of Hanging Basket. — " Hanging baskets, being exposed to the 
air on all sides, become dry very quickly, and many plants when once allowed 
to become dry cannot be revived ; others, like the German ivy, moneywort, etc., 
can be brought up again after being to all appearance dead. It is of little use 
to give a hanging basket a slight sprinkling every day ; indeed, it is a positive 
injury, as it draws the roots to the surface and the plant soon dies. The basket 
should be taken down and allowed to soak in a vessel holding water enough to 
cover the surface of the ground entirely, then, while in the water, sprinkle with 
a small watering pot those parts of the plant which escape over the side of the 
vessel." 

L<ai;i^n Flower Basket. — Get the good man to flatten the top of a stump 
or drive three or four stakes, and put upon these, three feet from the ground, a 
round board or plank platform ; then prepare two rings of iron rod, one about 



560 CHEAP AND ORNAMENTAL Ei^SKETS. 

half the size of the other — the smaller to rest upon the stump or platform, the 
larger a foot or so above the smaller, and then put on up and down wires from 
one to three inches apart, as you choose, and when completed line with green 
moss, and fill with dirt and suitable plants. 




THE IVY HANGING BASKET. 



Ivy Hangings Basket. — A very handsome hanging basket may be made 
•with no other plants in it but English ivy. A wooden bowl may be used for 
containing the soil, ornamented as one chooses, but the suspending attachments 
should be as handsome as can be afforded. A brass or gilded chain looks very 
prettily in the dark green foliage. Use a sponge in bottom of basket to retain 
moisture, and start the growth of ivy by cuttings, simply inserting the ends in 
the soil. Cut back as the symmetry of the basket demands, but do not dress 
it so as to make the sides too regular in form. 

Straw Fancy Basket. — Take a piece of cardboard fourteen inches 
long by ten inches wide, then cut out of an old straw hat a small rustic basket; 
sew it in the center of the cardboard, around the bottom and sides, but not at 
the top. Have ready some nice green, feathery moss, and about two cents' worth 
of gum arable dissolved in warm water. Place some of the moss inside of the 
basket and up around the top, and trailing down the sides ; that around the top 
and sides must first be dipped in the gum arable on the side which is to go next 
the cardboard. 

Mix small artificial flowers in with the moss, or wax flowers if you know how 
to make them. When the moss and flowers are arranged, sew a handle of the 
straw up over the basket. Paste gilt paper an inch and a half wide around the 
€dge of the cardboard ; hang up with a loop of ribbon. This makes a handsome 
^nd durable ornament and does not cost over twenty cents. 



CHEAP AND ORNAMENTAL BASKETS. 561 

\^''orstecl Fancy Basket. — Pretty ornaments, as well as useful articles 
for the sitting room or parlor, may be produced in many ways, but the follow- 
ing, described by a lady correspondent, appears to me to be specially so. It is 
a basket made to have the appearance of moss on the outside, produced by use 
of the same kind of worsted work as is used for embroidery. 

Four or five shades of green, and as many of brown, in regular gradations, 
should be selected ; the darkest shades of green being of an olive tinge, and the 
lightest of a yellowish hue in preference to grass green, which has not the yel- 
low autumnal tint of the colors before mentioned. One skein of each color is 
sufficient for a pair of baskets. 

^liape of Worsted Basket. — The shape or body of the basket is 
formed of pasteboard, and is usually round or oval, and made with or without 
a handle across, according to fancy. The pasteboard shape is covered inside 
and out with green silk ; and if a handle be affixed, it should be sewn on out- 
side, where the joining will be covered by the moss. 

To Prepare Worsted for Basket. — The worsted of each color 
should be wound mto a separate ball and knitted either flat or round like a 
stocking. A piece of thread should then be passed, by means of a needle, 
through the last row of loops or stitches, and fastened at each end in order to 
prevent the knitting from unraveling. The worsted should then be thoroughly 
wetted and soaked in warm water, and placed in an oven of gentle heat until 
thoroughly dry. 

After this, the respective pieces must be unraveled and made up into small 
bunches, which are to be sewn so thickly on the silk, with which the outside of 
the basket is covered, as to leave no apparent space between them. Each 
bunch should be composed of about three shades of color, made up in the fol- 
lowing manner : 

The several pieces of knitting being selected, a few rows of each are to be 
unraveled, and all the ends being taken up at the same time are to be held be- 
tween the thumb of the left hand and the side of the hand, as low and near the 
joint as possible. The upper part of the thumb being then slightly relaxed, the 
worsteds are, with the right hand, wound around the thumb and finger of the 
left hand like a figure 8, and held in that position while the middle, including 
the ends with which it began and left off, is sewed together with a piece of silk. 
The bunches should be placed in heaps, according to their respective shade, 
and sewn on the basket according to taste, intermingling the views, so as to 
avoid the appearance of formahty. 

Corn Husk Baskets. — The materials are pasteboard, corn husks and 
silk or flannel of some high color. Cut out the sides six inches at the top, five 
at the bottom and one and a half wide; cut two more for the ends, four inches 
at the top, three inches at the bottom and one and a half wide ; cut out the bot- 
tom five by three inches ; cut a strip three-fourths of an inch wide and 



562 



CHEAP AND ORNAMENTAL BASKETS. 



nine long for a handle. Then cut lining of some material not attractive to 
moths. 

The bottom and sides may be cut in one piece, care being taken to allow for 
seams at the ends and corners, and also at the top to turn down under the 
husks on the outside. The end pieces must be cut separately and joined to the 
other. Sew all the pieces of pasteboard together, letting the handle have three- 
quarters of an inch hold. 

Cut pieces of corn husk three-eighths of an inch wide and one and three- 
quarters of an inch long, cross the ends ; sew firmly to the pasteboard (begin- 
ning at the top) so as to make the points thus formed stand outward. When 
the whole is covered, fasten the lining by tacking here and there with silk of the 
same color. 




HOME-MADE ORNAMENTAL WOOD BASKET. 



Wood Basket. — Where wood is burnt in sitting rooms, or in the costly 
open fireplaces of the drawing room, ornamental baskets for storing it are fash- 
ionable, and they hcive the advantage of being portable. The design illustrated 
is of wood, and any boy Vv^ith a little mechanical genius can make it. The sides 
may be rendered very firm by putting in a cleat two inches square and driving 
nails or screws from under side and outside into this. 



CHEAP AND ORNAMENTAL BASKETS. 563 

The handle is made of a barrel hoop, and when you have all of the fancy 
work finished, plait small hemp rope and fasten on the edge ; wind the handle 
with the same, and then varnish. The legs and lower portion of the basket are 
also wound with rope. If preferred, chair casters may be substituted for legs. 

The inside is furnished with a linmg of brown or red felt, or strong cloth, 
and on the outside is first tacked a covering of silesia to match in color the in- 
side lining ; then a valance of garnet felt embroidered with black, bronze and 
blue wools. The darkest shading in the illustration designates where the black 
is used, and the bronze and blue can be placed to suit the taste. 

There is no need of having the design stamped ; a sufficient guide for the em- 
broidery is given in the illustration. First cut the felt into points, then with a 
foot rule and lead pencil draw the parallel lines shown over the points. These 
drawn, you will have a guide for outlining in same manner the Vandyke points 
above, keeping them exact by measurements with the foot rule. 

The embroidery is of the simplest description and is done by merely laying a 
thread of single zephyr along the pencil lines and fastening it in place by cross 
stitches of gold silk equal distances apart, as shown in illustration. The dots 
between the parallel lines above the points are commonly called French knots, 
or seed stitches, and are made as follows : Draw a needleful of zephyr through 
the cloth from under to upper side. Hold about three inches of the zephyr taut 
in the left hand and twist it three times around the needle, which pass back 
through the cloth at the same point it was drawn through, and when the zephyr 
is pulled down close a French knot w^ill be left on the surface. 

The tassels on and between the points are what is known as crewel tassels, 
or else made from the same wool used in the embroidery. Heavier tassels and 
a heavy cord made in the same manner decorate the handle. A good size for 
the basket is eighteen inches. in width by two feet in lenglh. 

To Make liVliite Crystal Kaskets. — Baskets made of copper wire 
may be crystallized in various shades at a very small expense. The basket for 
this purpose should not be large, but may be made after any desired pattern. 

Dissolve alum in hot water until you have a saturated solution ; place the 
basket in the mixture and let it stand in a quiet place until the wires are suffi- 
ciently coated. It can be determined by examination. 

Slue Crystal Baskets. — Use saturated solution of blue vitriol. It may 
be necessary to use the second solution to obtain the desired coating or crystal- 
lization ; manage the same as for white crystal baskets. 

Ruby Crystal Baskets. — Use the red prussiate of potassa, as this will 
dissolve in its own weight of hot water. Apply same as for white crystallization. 

Yellow Crystal Baskets. — Use ferrocyanuret of potassium. Immerse 
same as for white crystallization. After the basket has been crystallized it 
should be put under glass to keep it in its full beauty. The crystals being sclu- 
ble in water, it cannot be washed 



564 TIDIES AND RUGS. 

TIDIES AND RUGS. 



Primitive Articles. — Tidies and rugs are among the essentials of house 
furnishing. The primitive tidy was a netted or crocheted affair of white cot- 
ton, starched stiff, and had a depraved fashion of continually sHpping off the 
chair,' much to the discomfiture of the occupant. The primitive rug was a 
braid of three strands of cloth sewed round and round, eminently useful and 
long enduring, but of no great pretensions to beauty. 

From these humble beginnings a multitude of fashions for tidies and rugs 
have come in vogue from time to time, and a collection of the various styles of 
these two articles would be an interesting exhibition of feminine invention and 
ingenuity. 

Muslin Tidies. — Occasionally a woman may be seen cutting circles about 
two inches in diameter from scraps of bleached muslin. The edges are turned 
in and gathered with a strong thread, then drawn up and fastened. When flat- 
tened out the result is a tiny wheel, with the gathers radiating from the center 
like the spokes from a hub. One hundred and forty-four of these wheels joined 
together on the under side by strong stitches make a square tidy. It is finished 
with a fringe of cotton yarn drawn through with a needle, tied and Cut three 
inches long. This tidy has the virtue of being cheap and able to stand any 
amount of hard usage. 

Other very durable tidies are made of white bleached muslin or of pique 
braided or embroidered with coarse cotton. The edges are worked in tiny scal- 
lops or hemmed and finished with lace. 

Squares of sheer white muslin edged with plaiting or frilling, and tied at the 
corners with colored ribbon bows, are the most easily made of real pretty 
tidies. 

PhaiitouL Tidy. — A lady writer says that one of the daintiest tidies she 
has seen was made of Swiss muslin with designs of fern leaves upon it. The 
leaves were placed on the muslin in graceful shapes, and the fabric not so cov- 
ered was sprinkled with ink ; the leaves were then removed, and lace sewed 
around the edge with bows of ribbon at the corners. This " phantom tidy," as 
it was called, elicited many expressions of admiration for its simple and exquis- 
ite beauty. It seems that care will be required in making a good distribution 
of the ink, and I would recommend putting it on in the same manner as for 
spatter work. See page 523, 

Pliisli and Silk Tidy. — An artistic and beautiful tidy is produced by a 
combination of tv/o blocks of plush and two of white silk. The blocks are each 
five and one-half inches square, and of the plush one is garnet and the other 
blue. The white silk blocks have each a small spray of flowers painted or 
decalcomanied on, or they may be embroidered. 



TIDIES AND RUGS. 565 

Join the blocks to form a square, with fine torchon lace inserting, and border 
the square with a torchon lace edge. 

Scarf Tidies. — Japanese scarfs — to be had wherever Japanese goods are 
kept — make exquisite tidies for plush furniture, particularly when the chairs and 
sofa do not show any wooden frame work at the top. The scarfs are a yard 
and one-quarter or a yard and one-half in length and two to three-eighths wide. 
The material resembles linen cheese cloth in texture and the scarf ends are 
beautifully done in Japanese silk and tinsel embroidery. To use for a tidy, tie 
a loose knot in the center ot the scarf and lay it across the very top of a chair. 

An artistic effect is produced by these scarfs draped over the corner of a pic- 
ture frame or an ebony easel. A more effective easel drapery is a scarf of pink 
pongee half a yard wide, embroidered across the ends in outline work and 
fringed out. Scarf chair tidies of pongee in the natural and dark shades are 
made in the same way. 

Wasli Blonde Tidy. — Squares of round meshed wash blonde darned 
with white embroidery cotton in a delicate pattern of vines and leaves and 
edged with lace make quite pretty tidies. They may be lined with bright colored 
cambric, if preferred. 

I>auia§k L.iiieii Tidy. — Gorgeous tidies are made out of what at first 
sight appears to be the most inappropriate materials. One is a square or rect- 
angle of unbleached damask table linen, with star, leaf, diamond, or Roman 
key patterns. The figures are worked over in long stitches of worsted or silk, 
the damask furnishing both the groundwork and patterns. The linen is then 
raveled out all around for a fringe and the tidy is done. 

Hand Woven Tidy. — Take four pieces of lath of equal length, and 
fasten them securely at the corners into a square frame, as large as you wish the 
tidy to be. Drive tacks mto this at the corners and in all four sides, one and 
one-fourth inches apart. Fasten one end of a ball of white wool on one of the 
tacks next the corner, carry to the one on the opposite side and back, then back 
again, leaving three threads in a place ; carry to next tack, then proceed as 
before, till your frame is filled. 

Turn it and cross the "warp" thus made at right angles in the same way; 
then turn your frame again and wind the wool cornerwise, dividing the check 
squares into triangles ; turn the frame again so as to cross the last at right 
angles. Now with a yarn needle and red wool fasten all corners where all 
courses cross, leaving several ends at all the outside crossings. Cut the wool 
from the tacks. Trim the edges even, leaving the ends as little tassels, and you 
have a perfect gem of a tidy. 

Stair Linen Tidy. — A handsome tidy is made of stair linen with diagonal 
bars each way, and a leaf pattern in the spaces. The leaves are embroidered with 
zephyr in satin stitch. The cross bars are covered with black velvet ribbon of 
the same width, fastened on both edges by button hole stitching of gold colored 



566 TIDIES AND RUGS. 

silk. The edge of the tidy is fringed out. Rich shades of scarlet or crimson, 
or several shades of green, are the handsomest for these tidies. 

Tiirkisia Towel Tidy, — A beautiful tidy is made of ecru Turkish towel- 
ing and applique work. Set figures are cut from bright colored cloth, arranged 
according to fancy, and fastened on the toweling in half polka or button hole 
stitch as preferred. Dragons, butterflies, and leaves of brilliant colors are the 
favorite figures. The bodies of the butterflies must be worked in satin stitch, 
and the scales of the dragon in point-russe. 

The edge may be finished with several rows of loose chain stitch in gold and 
black. Inside of this a vine and tiny leaves of embroidery and cloth en applique 
may be arranged if fancied ; or the edge may be ornamented with gimp or with 
several rows of skirt braid of different colors, sewed on in button hole stitch. 

To Knit a Tidy, — Cast upon very coarse needles ninety-two stitches, 
knit across plain like the heel of a stocking, seam back, knit across plain as 
before, then seam back. Commence , narrow eight stitches into four ; put your 
thread up over once, making a loop stitch hole, and knit one stitch, thread over, 
knit one, thread over ; knit one, thread over ; knit one, thread over ; knit one, 
thread over ; knit one, thread over ; knit one, thread over ; narrow eight times, 
thread over , knit one, thread over ; knit one, thread over ; knit one, thread over , 
knit one, thread over ; knit one, thread over ; knit one, thread over ; knit one, 
thread over ; knit one, thread over ; narrow eight times as above on the right 
side, across, seam back, knit across plain, seam back, making three times across 
between eyelets according to rule. You can have it as long or as short as you 
choose. I have one for a common lounge made of carpet warp. Trim with 
fringe or not, as you think best. 

Silk or Satin Tidy. — Black silk or satin makes handsome tidies for crim- 
son covered chairs. A monogram may be embroidered in the center with crim- 
'son, and crimson ribbon bows used to fasten them to the chair. The edges 
may be hemmed and stitched with crimson, and finished with black lace or 
•decorated with a tiny vine or rows of coral stitch in crimson. A group and 
border of autumn leaves embroidered in shades of scarlet and oak would be very 
effective for these black tidies. 

Imitation Moss Mug, — In making rugs, two important points must be 
considered — the amount of work and time required. In these days, when quite 
handsome rugs can be purchased for a small sum, it does not pay a woman to 
spend all of her spare time for weeks and weeks over a rug, even if the ma- 
terials do come out of the rag bag and therefore cost nothing. The drawn 
coffee sack rugs in figures of cats, dogs, bouquets, etc., the rugs made of scores 
of small circles of cloth hemmed on each other, and many other kinds are open 
to this objection. 

Imitation moss rugs are among the handsomest of home manufacture. Take 
.a quantity of old white or light yarn hose, nubias and knit shawls, and dye them 



TIDIES AND RUGS. • ' 567 

in shades of green ; ravel out and sew in small bunches or tufts on a stiff foun- 
dation. 

Clotli Rug.— A pretty cloth rug is quickly made of pieces four inches 
square, doubled once diagonally and gathered to form a leaf, and sewed on a 
piece of hemp carpet or stiff canvas. Begin at the edge and sew around, con- 
ceahng the raw edges in the center with a small cross or diamond of tufted yarn 
or wool. Drab and blue, or green and crimson combine well in these rugs. 

Wool Rug's. — Wool rugs are made of wool dyed in various colors and 
sewed on coffee sacks or other foundation with coarse thread, taking care to 
conceal the stitches. The rug may be in one, two, or more colors, and in what- 
ever figures one chooses to design. 

Coffee Sack Rugs. — Select coffee sacks that are of even texture, and have 
them washed and ironed smoothly, or, if you prefer, buy the same material by 
the yard, which will be still better, as it will be clean and with the original stiff- 
ening. The rug must be cut of the desired size, allowing for the fringe, and 
then worked in cross stitch with coarse wool, just as one would work on Java 
canvas. 

Some rugs are very handsome when done with a Persian pattern, and if pre- 
ferred, the designs may be made very pretty by introducing an applique center 
of scarlet, crimson, blue or green cloth or flannel, button hole stitched to hold 
it down. 

The edge is fringed out in the usual way, being secured by the button hole 
edge. The more it is worked the handsomer it will be, and even for a table 
cover for a common stand or center table the effect is excellent, and it will be 
found very durable. 

Chenille Rugs. — Chenille rugs may be made from old bits of all sorts of 
bright and neutral tints of woolen, silk and cotton, which are usually considered 
fit for nothing but the rag bag. Cut these in small bits, of almost any shape, 
as their form will allow (though it is better to cut them nearly square, if you 
can); take a coarse needle and strong linen twine, double in long needlefuls and 
string these bits of rags. 

After the string is full, take some shears and trim off the ragged edges, so as 
to make the roll as round as you can ; when you have enough string, take a 
piece of tapestry or Brussels carpeting for a center, and sew on the edge a strip 
of your chenille ; then, on that another strip, and so on, just as you do braided 
mats. 

Carriage Rugs. — For carriage use, rugs are made of heavy burlap can- 
vas, colored gray, brown or black, and embroidered in showy patterns with 
coarse Germantown wool in long cross stitches. A raveled fringe finishes the 
edges. To make it sufficiently heavy a strip of burlap of rather more than 
twice the width of the fringe is folded through the middle, raveled on both 
edges and sewed under the fringed edge of the rug. 



568 TIDIES AND RUGS. 

Scrap Mag" Rii^. — A lady writer directs to take a piece of hemp sacking, 
and draw some pretty design in the center — a bouquet of flowers, a wreath or 
some animal — mark a border with a chain or heraldry pattern ; sew the canvas 
into a frame like quilting frames, only smaller, so as not to occupy too much 
room. Have a hook made like a crochet hook or needle ; one can be manu- 
factured easily by taking a parasol brace or a piece of wire and filing the end 
into a proper form. Cut the scraps of cloth into strips of half an inch in width 
— if thin fabric make it wider — pass the hook downward through the canvas with 
the right hand ; have the cloth underneath the frame in the left hand ; insert a 
loop on the hook and draw it to the upper side about three-fourths of an inch. 

Leave about three threads space and close in another loop ; regard the selec- 
tion of colors so as to shade them nicely, and keep the form of your pattern — 
it is very quiet, easy and fascinating work. Work the figures first, and then 
draw in the filling up, or groundwork, with some dark color — black, brown or 
drab ; after it is completed, shear the whole surface evenly, but not too close, 
and you have a fine, substantial, durable rug that will last a lifetime, and do 
more service and be prettier than any imported article that would cost any- 
where from ten to thirty dollars ; and the best of all is, that it is home-made. 

Rug's of Skin. — Sheep skins dyed, and fox and calf skins tanned, make 
warm, convenient rugs for winter use. Line them with black cloth and stitch 
narrow, pinked strips of red or blue cloth around the edge. 

"Yarn IS-ngs. — Yarn rugs for common use may be made of old woolen 
stockings. Make your foundation of burlap ; cut your stockings in strips, about 
one and a half inches wide ; ravel them, leaving about one-fourth of an inch for 
sewing on to the foundation. Begin at the outer edge, and sew around the 
rug the unraveled edge of each row, just covering the part sewed on of the pre- 
ceding one. 

Take Etruscan cloth or Turkish towehng, cut in any shape you like ; cut out 
figures, of thick flannel or bright colored cloth, and button hole stitch them on 
with worsted or fine yarn ; cut a border of some pretty design ; put it on in the 
same way, and either bind the edge or trim with short, heavy fringe. 

By using a foundation of old, but strong white cotton, lined with something 
firm and durable, and putting on figures of black and bright colored cloths, and 
trimming the edge with a strip of black cloth scalloped, a very pretty rug may 
be made. 

Cliecker Board Rug. — A small rug may be easily made by weaving 
contrasting colors in the checker board pattern. Take a strip of cloth of the 
proper length for your mat, two feet and a half long (which is the width of an 
ordinary door) and an inch wide. 

Prepare fifteen of these strips and tack them smoothly to a board or old table, 
making the edges touch each other. Then take the contrasting color and 
weave it in strip by strip, at right angles to the first, until the whole forms a 



TIDIES AMD RUGS. 5^9 

smooth and close web. With strong thread fasten the outer edges firmly in 
place all around ; remove the tacks ; sew on the border, and the rug is done. 
A border of black pieces, cut in semicircular form, and notched evenly with a 
pair of scissors, makes a pretty finish. 

Rugs of Carpeting. — The most easily made rugs, and perhaps as satis- 
factory- as any, are of pieces of carpet, bordered. The carpet may be doubled 
or hned and quilted. The border may be of coarse embroidered or applique 
work, or of braided cloth, or of bits of rags drawn through coffee sacks, or like 
any of the above described kinds of rugs. 

Fringe for Hugs. — Handsome fringe for rugs can be made of coarse 
Germantown vrool or of yarn. Strips of woolen cloth two or three inches wide, 
and cut fine nearly across, will answer very well for fringe, where two or three 
thicknesses are sewed together. 




DESIGN FOR SILK AND VELVET SOFA QUILT 

Silk and Velvet §ofa <J^t!ilt. — A most useful, and in these days of 
draperies, an ornamental adjunct as well, to a sofa, is a silk quilt. - It is 
substituted for tidies. The Ladies' Manual gives an effective design which 
is represented at full size in figures one and two. The four pointed star is of 
black velvet, and the octagon shapes can be cut from miscellaneous scraps of 
silk, but if colors are selected using two shades only in each octagonal block, 
the result is simply beautiful : for instance, two shades of pink, two of blue,. 
olive or brown, cardinal and gold. The small daisies in the center are made of 
tufted worsted or filling silk, or they may be omitted. 

Baste all the pieces on paper, overhand them and then pull the paper out. 
To obtain a pattern by which to cut the blocks oil a piece of thin writing paper 
with lard or kerosene, and it will become transparent, so that it can be laid over 
the illustration of figures one and two, and the exact outlines drawn. Cut out 
the figures from the oiled paper — making allowance for a seam all round should 
you desire to enlarge the blocks — lay them on a piece of thin pasteboard and 
cut //. The result will be a serviceable and firm pattern, and by reference to 
the illustration it will be seen that eight of the small triangular shapes are used 
in a block, which is an octagon. 



57C TIDIES AND RUGS. 

A section of this patchwork, the size and shape of illustration, makes a pretty 
finish for the ends of a felt table scarf, and with the addition of silk balls or tas- 
sels tacked across at intervals, a really handsome scarf is produced without any 
embroidery being done on it. 

Effective borders for table covers and scarfs are made from the " Crazy Jane " 
silk patchwork, also sofa pillows and cushions for reed chairs. 




PATTERNS FOR CUTTING SOFA QUILT BLOCKS. 

HoHie-inacle Per§ian Rug^. — A description of a very cheap and pretty 
rug is given by the Ladies' Manual. It directs to get from some carpet store 
a supply of scraps of tapestry Brussels carpeting ; pieces that are too small to 
be worked up into hassocks are quite large enough for the purpose. Cut these 
into strips of any length their size allows, but let them be of uniform width, say 
three inches. Ravel these all out, rejecting the linen, and collecting in a box 
the little crimped worsted threads. 

Provide yourself with a pair of the largest size steel knitting needles and a 
ball of the coarsest crochet cotton, either white or colored. Set on ten stitches, 
and after knitting a row or two to make a firm beginning, go on as if you were 
making a garter, but with every other stitch lay a thread of the crimped wool 
across the needles. 

After knitting the stitch, take the end of wool which shows upon the wrong 
side, and turn it toward the right side, knitting a stitch above to secure it. 
Then put in another thread of wool and repeat the process. The back of the 



HOW TO MAKE MATS. 571 

Strips should have something the appearance of that of a body Brussels carpet, 
while the front should be like a sort of thick, long napped plush. 

The colors may be used without selection, making a sort of chene effect ; or 
carpets may be chosen for raveling which show only shades of scarlet or blue ; 
or brown carpets may be used for the center of the rug, and a border of scarlet 
or blue sewed on all around. After doing a little of this work, many ideas as 
to arrangement of colors will suggest themselves, and a little practice will ena- 
ble the knitter to produce some very pleasing results. 

When the strips are all finished they must be sewed together at the back. It 
is only for convenience that they are knitted in strips — the rug, as a whole, 
would be very cumbersome and unwieldy to handle. Some ladies edge a Brus- 
sels or velvet carpet hearth rug with a strip of this knitting, thus giving a very 
pretty finish. Small mats for placing in front of bureaus are also very pretty 
made upon the same plan. 



HOW TO MAKE MATS. 



Crocheted Mat. — A pair of them can be knit in a single evening. Begin 
by making a plain center consisting of successive rounds of dc. (double crochet, 
long stitches), separated by one ch. (chain stitch), widening sufficiently to keep it 
flat. For the first round of the border knit four sc. (single crochet), then seven 
ch., skipping three stitches in the last round of center ; repeat the four sc. and 
seven ch. until this round is completed. Second round of border ; knit four dc. 
over the four in first round, then into each of the seven ch. make a dc. ; sepa- 
rate these dc. stitches by one ch. Repeat until second round is completed. 

The next and third round consists entirely of treble crochet stitches. One 
into each stitch of the second round. Fourth round, make seven chain and 
fasten by a sc. into each stitch of the preceding round. 

The center of this mat is of white, single zephyr ; border of two shades of 
light green or coral single zephyr. The border is very full and of feathery 
appearance. A mat of ordinary size requires a half ounce of white and one and 
a half of colored worsted. It should be crocheted very loosely, especially the 
last row, consisting of chain stitches. Upon the observance of this depends 
the prettiness of the mat. 

IVaslistand Mat. — To make these, crochet a center of No. lo German 
tidy cotton, consisting of solid rows of double crochet (long stitches), widening 
sufficiently to keep it flat and crocheting tightly. Make the center the exact size 
of the bottom of the pitcher, bowl or toilet piece for which it is designed. 

Commence the border by crocheting two double crochet, one chain and then 



572 HOW TO MAKE MATS. 

another double crochet, through the back vein of a single stitch of the preced- 
ing row. This forms a cluster, which knit again after skipping three stitches, 
and so continue until the row is completed. 

The second row consists of clusters of three double crochet, one chain and 
then one double crochet, all passed through the chain stitches of the first row. 
The third and last row is knit the same as the second, except making fotir 
double crochet before the chain. 

If these mats are used upon marble, a border of scarlet worsted is particularly- 
pretty. The scarlet will retain all its brightness in washing if a little washing- 
soda is used in the first water and the mat immediately rinsed in cold water. 

Huslin Toilet Mat. — A pretty and very quickly made toilet mat of dotted 
Swiss may be produced in the following manner : Get swiss in which the dots 
are about an inch and a quarter apart, and having cut a square piece two inches 
smaller all round than the size you desire the finished mat, embroider stars on 
every other square in the swiss designated by the dots in any color of single 
zephyr matching the furnishing of the room. The stars are simply threads of 
the zephyr crossing each other in what is known as the double cross stitch. 

To finish the edge of the mat cut a ruffle three and one-half inches wide, fold 
a narrow hem on each edge and fasten it in place by taking stitches " over and 
over" with the worsted ; gather the ruffle also with the worsted, leaving a nar- 
row heading, and sew it around the edge of the mat which is to be laid on a 
foundation piece of white paper cambric. 

I>out>le Ruffle Mat. — Mats of India muslin, which washes so nicely, are 
very prettily finished simply with a double ruffle. Cut the ruffles of equal width* 
sew one on the edge of the mat and the other the width of itself inside this,, 
covering the raw edges with narrow nainsook inserting. 

Have the ruffles fluted, and laying the mats over colored silk, the effect is 
charming. India or book muslin mats trimmed with an inserting and edge of 
the new guipure lace, such as is used for curtains, are rather handsomer than 
the ones just described. The lace should be as cobweb like as possible. 

Cheap Foot Mat. — A lady writer says that a very inexpensive foot mat 
may be made of a plain colored delaine dress, no matter how old — or if you want 
two colors take two dresses, and arrange the shades to suit yourself — cut bias 
strips two inches wide, fringe the edges with a large pin — you can do it very fast 
— run a thread through the middle, draw it up together almost as tight and 
close as you can, then sew this on to some firm foundation. You want to com- 
mence in the middle and go round and round. 

It takes a great deal of material, but that doesn't matter, for it can be made of 
what is good for nothing else. If you haven't enough to make the whole mat in 
this way, cut a plain center piece of black cloth, or something which will last, 
and sew the fringed gathers around it. After it is sewed on trim it evenly, and 
it will have the appearance of a chenille foot mat. 



HOW TO MAKE MATS. 573 

Another Metliod. — Another way is to take an old pair of black pants — 
or any other plain color will do, of course — cut about a dozen yards of inch wide 
strips ; then cut some red, or bright colored flannel the same way ; if you 
haven't any old, you can get coarse scarlet flannel for thirty cents a yard, plenty 
good enough, and one yard will make two mats. 

Prepare some good calico, or something firm for the foundation ; then cut a 
piece of black two fingers wide and five fingers long, and baste it in the center 
of the foundation. Lap the red on this piece, the right sides together ; run it 
across one side with coarse carpet thread ; cut off the end ; roll it over and baste 
it down " log cabin " fashion ; put the red on again, laying it so it will cross the 
€nd you cut ; run it, turn and baste again. Go clear around the black center 
with the red, then with the black alternating, until you have the mat as large as 
you wish. Those who have made " log cabin " bedquilts will not need all these 
instructions. 

For the edge, put on a plain piece of black about an inch and a half wide, 
and pink it if you have an iron. If you have not, take either black or red three 
inches wide, cut little slits an inch and a half long every half finger ; take each 
piece up separately, double the corners in, run it across, turn it, press it down 
well, and you will have even points all around, which will look better than pinking. 

If you choose, you can make these mats octagon shape by cutting the center 
piece that shape, and if you want it to look extra nice, embroider a dog, a bird, 
a monkey or a large initial in the center of the black with gray worsted. You 
will have to get this stamped first, unless you have considerable ingenuity. 

Knit Ra^ Mats. — Almost every family have a receptacle where cast off 
garments are allowed to accumulate, which are too good for the rag bag, and 
not profitable to be made over into articles of wearing apparel. These may be 
made into sightly and useful mats. 

Select a goodly quantity of gay colors ; wash thoroughly, and when dry cut 
or tear in strips about a half inch wide ; if cut on the bias the rags work all 
the better, for then when knit, the strips look like plush. The more pains you 
take in cutting or sewing the nicer your work will look when finished. 

You will want a pair of wooden needles three-eighths of a yard long and as 
large around as a common pipe stem ; they must be very smooth, or else your 
stitches will catch. Before beginning to knit the rags you will want to decide 
what shape you wish for the mat. 

If you wish a large, black diamond to form the center piece, cast on three 
stitches ; knit "garter fashion ;" widen at the ends of the needle every time you 
knit across, until you have thirty stitches ; now knit plain three or four times 
across, then commence and narrow at the end of the needle until you are re- 
duced to three stitches ; bind off, and thus you have the starting point. Now 
cast on seven or eight stitches, knit a strip long enough to reach around the 
center piece, bind off, sew together and sew on around the center piece. 



574 HOW TO MAKE MATS. 

By laying your work on a table or stand when sewing, you will get it much 
truer. You will get a right curve to your strip by knitting the outside stitch 
every time you commence, on one side only. The second piece may be made 
from green delaine, the next strip (like the first, only a little longer), hit or miss 
rags — very bright colors — or very short pieces sewed together. 

Next strip green delaine, next hit or miss, divided by rags of a bright maroon 
color, forming a very pleasing contrast ; the last row may be made of green 
delaine knit with a scalloped edge, bordered by a crocheted edge of scarlet yarn 
or any other colors to please. 

"Wall Protecting Hat. — Get a yard of fine cord Marseilles. Have your 
initial stamped in the center, also appropriate designs in the corners for braid- 
ing. Braid the whole with the linen star braid, and finish the outer edges by 
sewing on britannia frilling. This makes a neat and pretty protector for the 
wall back of a washstand. 

A set of pretty mats for the stand can be made of the same material. Cut 
circular mats of the size required, braid the initial upon the center of each ; line 
them and finish the edges with a scallop in button hole stitch. 

leashing' Toilet Mats. — In washing toilet mats, they should not be 
starched, as it will cause them to fasten to the bottom of bowl or pitcher, so> 
that they will be displaced whenever either of those articles are moved. 

Corn Musk Mats. — Select the second layer of husks, rejecting the brown 
outside ones. Tear them into strips lengthwise, about an inch or inch and a 
half wide. Lay them on the grass or in a tub, and with a broom sprinkle water 
upon them until damp enough to be pliable. 

Begin by making a round bunch of husks about a finger's size, tying the 
bunch at the base or near the butt ends with a stout string, then divide into 
thirds and braid flat. When the strand on the left hand side is brought over 
each time, add one or two husks, leaving the butts projecting half a finger's, 
length. Braid in the tops, and so continue until a strand about twenty feet long 
has been made. That size will make a good sized step or door mat. Sheep' 
shears will be found most convenient for this work. 

Trim off the projecting butts to even length with a pair of shears, then wind 
and sew the mat with strong twine. The sewing, of course, is done on the 
under or smooth side. The sewing should be done before the husks are dried,, 
or if dried, should be dampened. If not true enough to please the eye on its 
brush surface, the mat may be bent and dressed off with the shears. 

Another Method. — A rural lady says : Take an inch board of the size de- 
sired and bore three-fourth inch holes through it, with the centers two inches 
apart ; into these draw dampened corn husks, and trim off an inch or more long 
on each side. This mat is good either side up. Anybody can easily make one, 
and people can keep their boots and shoes clean, much to the gratification o£ 
good housekeepers. 



THE MANAGEMENT OF FABRICS. S7S 

HoAV to Wash a Sheepskin Hat. — The first thing to be remembered 
is, that it must not be washed in too hot water, as that would spoil the color of 
the wool and make it quite yellow. Boiled soap must be used in sufficient 
quantity to clean the skin well, after which it must be thoroughly rinsed in cold 
water till the whole of the soap is removed. It should not be put into water 
with much blue in it, but enough should be used to make it a clear white. 

The mat may be put in the sun to dry, but care must be taken not to leave 
it too long, nor to put the skin uppermost, but always the fleecy part, otherwise 
it will become stiff and will crack. 

To prevent all chance of this it must be very frequently shaken while drying, 
as this is an important part of the process, and is of as much consequence as 
the washing. If the mat be a colored one, some ox gall should be mixed with 
the boiled soap to preserve the dye. 

Table Mat. — A fine mat for very hot dishes is made of two circular pieces 
of heavy brown paper, each covered with scarlet flannel, or white, if you prefer. 

On one side sew porcelain buttons — white-centered ones with scarlet borders 
are the prettiest — in the form of a star or stars, diamonds or squares, with a 
double row around the edge. Lastly, join the two pieces together by top stitch- 
ing the edges all around. You may make them also of an oblong form for 
vegetable dishes or meat platters. 

Mat for Matches. — Cut sheets of sand paper in circular and octagonal 
shapes, fasten upon pasteboard, and bind with bright colored braids. A ring 
should then be attached to each, and the whole hung near the match safe for 
use whenever a match is lighted. The unsightly marks that disfigure many 
walls may, by this inexpensive and simple arrangement, be entirely prevented. 
There should be one in every room in the house. . 



THE MANAGEMENT OF FABRICS. 



How to Wash Flannels. — The principal reason that flannels do not 
look as nicely as expected after being washed may be attributed to the fact that 
they are not usually washed separately from the other clothes. They should 
never be put in the same water with linen and cotton goods, as they will not 
only gather all the lint and dirt in the water, but be injured in the brightness or 
liveliness of color. 

Always use warm suds, never hot, performing the labor as soon as possible, 
and do not apply soap directly to the flannel. Rinse in clear, warm water, 
never cold, and place where they will dry readily. Colored and white flannels 
should not be washed together, and if in the same water, put through the white 



576 THE MANAGEMENT OF FABRICS. 

iirst. If flannels are put into dirty suds, the water is made cleaner thereby, but 
the fabric but little, if any, improved. 

To ^Vasli Merino ^tockmg'§. — The same method should be pursued 
as for flannels and all woolen and cotton goods. Boil the soap to make a lather, 
wash them in this warm, and rinse in a second lather (if white, mix a little 
blue). Never rinse in plain water, or use cold lather; and never rub the soap 
upon merino or flannel ; the one shrinks, the other thickens and spoils the wool. 

To 3te§tore Tl^hite Flannel, — To restore the original appearance to 
white flannel which has turned yellowish by lying for a long time or by wear, 
soak for an hour in a weak solution of bisulphate of soda, then add a little dilute 
muriatic acid, stir well and cover the vessel for twenty minutes. After this, take 
the flannel out, rinse in plenty of warm, soft water and dry in the sun. The 
flannel will be purely white. 

Another Method. — Use one and a half pounds of white Marseilles soap 
in fifty pounds of soft river water, to which is added two-thirds of an ounce of 
spirits of sal ammonia, and the whole thoroughly mixed. The flannel is to be 
immersed in this solution and well stirred around, and afterward washed off in 
pure water. 

The same result may also, it is said, be obtained still more quickly by immers- 
ing the flannel for an hour in a dilute solution of acid sulphate of soda, and 
then stirring in dilute hydrochloric acid, in the proportion of one part of acid to 
fifty of water. The vessel is then to be covered over and allowed to remain for 
a quarter of an hour, when the articles are to be removed and thoroughly 
washed. 

To Wa§h Colored Fabrics. — Before washing any colored fabrics soak 
them for some time in water, to every gallon of which is added a spoonful of 
ox gall. A tea cup of lye in a pail of water is said to improve the color of black 
^oods when it is necessary to wash them. A strong, clean tea of common hay 
will preserve the color of French linens. 

Vinegar in the rinsing water for pink or green will brighten those colors, and 
soda answers the same end for both purple and blue. Sugar of lead is good 
for preserving the color of blue. Put one ounce of the sugar of lead in a pail 
of cold water, and soak the fabric for two hours therein, and dry it before 
washing. 

To Prevent Prints Fading. — Take the dress when it needs washing, 
and dip it in a pail of salt water, and dry it before sending it to the wash. This 
should be done before the dress is washed the first time, and the process need 
never be repeated. 

Second Method. — Put wheat bran in a bag, boil and take half the water 
to wash in, half to rinse in ; use no soap. This will cleanse them without fading 
and stiffen them without starch. Iron on the wrong side and they will look as 
if just out of the store. 



THE MANAGEMENT OF FABRICS. 577 

Tliirtl Method. — Make a lather by boiling soap and water together ; let it 
stand until it is sufficiently cool for use, and ireviously to putting the dress into 
it, throw in a handful of salt ; rinse the dress without wringing it in clear, cold 
water, into which a little salt has been thrown ; remove it and rinse it in a fresh 
supply of clear water and salt. Then wring the dress in a cloth and hang it to 
dry immediately, spreading as open as possible, so as to prevent one part lying 
over another. Should there be any white in the pattern, mix a little blue in the 
water. 

Fourth Method. — The first requisite is plenty of water ; this is even 
more essential for colored than for white clothes. It should not be hot enough 
to scald and should have a moderate suds of hard soap before the garments 
are put in. Wash calicoes in two waters, using but little soap in the second. 
When clean, rinse them two or even three times in tepid water. Good laun- 
dresses always assert that the great secret of clear muslins is thorough rinsing.' 

The quality of starch used affects light colors, and for musHn dresses espe- 
cially only starch of the purest quality should be used. When no very great 
stiffness is required, it is a good plan to stir the starch into the rinsing water; 
it assists in setting the colors where they show a tendency to run. 

Fifth Method. — Infuse three gills of salt in four quarts of boiling water, 
put the calicoes in while hot and leave them till cold : in this way the colors are 
rendered permanent, and will not fade by subsequent washing. So says a lady 
who has frequently made the experiment herself. Nothing can be cheaper and 
more quickly done. 

Making and Using Washing Fluid. — One pound of soda ash, one 
pound of unslaked lime, four quarts of water. Boil these ingredients together 
in a saucepan. As soon as boiled, pour off to settle. Soak the clothes over- 
night, with one-half cup of the solution thrown into the water. 

After rubbing the clothes, which will be very easy, put them into the boiler, 
which must contain soft water. Before putting them into the boiler, add 
one-half cup of the solution with a few shoes of soap to dissolve. Let the 
clothes boil ten minutes ; take out and rinse. 

This method will remove all stains, and beautiful white clothes will appear. 
It does not rot the goods. A lady has used this preparation for fourteen years, 
and could not be prevailed upon to use any other. She also mentions several of 
her friends who think it unequaled. It is not very expensive, for ten cents will 
buy material for many washes. 

Another Way. — Put five quarts of rain water into a kettle, and, when it is 
hot, add one pound of sal soda and one-half pound of quicklime ; let the whole 
boil together a few minutes until the sal soda and lime are dissolved, then 
remove it from the fire, and when it is settled it may be put into bottles. 

The night before washing put the clothes soaking. In the morning wring 
them out and put them boiling, having added about a pint of the fluid to the 



578 THE MANAGEMENT OF FABRICS. 

boiling water, stirring it together. After they are boiled, it will be found neces- 
sary to rub the dirtiest of the clothes, but they come clean much easier from 
the effects of the fluid. 

A fluid made by dissolving saltpeter in soft water is an excellent aid in wash- 
ing, and not considered by housewives generally as injurious, I believe. 

To Remove Mildew from Clotlies. — Mix soft soap with powdered 
starch, half as much salt, and the juice of a lemon ; lay it on the part with a 
brush ; then lay the article on the grass day and night till the stain comes out. 

Second Method. — Make a very weak solution of chloride of lime in 
water — about a heaping teaspoonful to a quart of water ; strain it carefully, and 
dip the spot or the garment in it, and if the mildew does not disappear imme- 
diately, lay it in the sun for a few minutes, or dip it again in the lime water. 

The work is effectually and speedily done, and I cannot find by experiment 
that the chloride of lime either rots the cloth or removes delicate colors, when 
suflficiently diluted, and the article rinsed afterward in clear water. If the mil- 
dew is on lawn or muslin, wash in hot chlorine water. Spirits of hartshorn is 
also said to be useful for the same purpose. 

Third Method. — After washing the clothes, but before boiling, pin 
Jamestown weed leaves upon the mildewed spots. Cover the bottom of the 
boiler with a single layer of leaves, and lay spots next to them. Sour buttermilk 
and lemon juice are also good. 

How to Clean Merino. — Grate two or three large potatoes ; add to 
them a pint of water ; let them stand for a short time and pour off the liquor 
clear, when it will be fit for use. Lay the merino on a flat surface and apply 
the liquid with a clean sponge till the dirt is completely extracted. Dip each 
piece in a pailful of clean water and hang up to dry without wringing. Iron 
while damp on the wrong side. It will then appear almost new. 

Ho^v to \l^a§h l>elaine§. — Have the water only milk warm, making a 
lather of white soap before you put in the dress, instead of rubbing it on the 
material, and stirring into a first and second tub of water a large tablespoonful 
of ox gall. Wash fast and then rinse through two cold waters. Into each 
rinsing water stir a teaspoonful of vinegar, which will help to brighten the col- 
ors ; and after rinsing hang them out immediately. 

When dry enough to iron (still a little damp) bring them in ; have irons ready 
heated, and iron them at once, as it injures the colors to allow them to remain 
damp too long, or to sprinkle and roll them up in a covering for ironing next day. 
The best way is not to do colored dresses on the day of the general wash, but 
to give them a morning by themselves. They should only be undertaken in 
clear, bright weather. 

If allowed to freeze the colors will be irreparably injured. No colored article 
should ever be boiled or scalded at all. Some colors (especially pinks and light 
greens), though they may stand perfectly well in washing, will change as soon 



THE MANAGEMENT OF FABRICS. 579 

as a warm iron is applied to them ; the pink turning purplish and the green 
bluish. 

To Wasli Thin llusliiis. — Muslin dresses, even the most delicate colors, 
can be cleaned in a quarter of an hour, without loosing their color. Melt half a 
pound of white soap in a gallon of water, empty in a washing tub of water ; 
place near two other large tubs of clean water, and stir into one a quart of bran. 

Put the muslin in the suds, turn it over and knead it for a few minutes ; 
squeeze it out well, but do not wring it, lest it get turned ; rinse it about quickly 
in the bran for a couple of minutes. Rinse again well for a couple of minutes 
in clear water. Squeeze out dry, and hang it between two lines. A clear, dry 
day should be chosen. 

To Wasli Silk Ooods. — Half a pint of gin, four ounces of- soft soap, 
and two ounces of honey, well shaken. Wet a sponge with this mixture and 
rub the silk, which should be spread upon a table. Then wash it through two 
waters, in which put two or three spoonfuls of ox gall, w^hich will brighten the 
colors and prevent them running. 

Do not wring the silk, but hang it up to dry, and while damp iron it. The 
lady who furnishes this recipe says she has washed a green silk dress by it, and 
it looks as good as new. 

To Clean Old Black Silk. — Rub each breadth carefully with a woolen 
cloth to get the dust from the surface, then mix an equal quantity of strong tea 
and vinegar, with which the silk is washed by rubbing it with a piece of flannel. 
It must be made very wet. Smooth the silk, carefully folding it, and in about 
fifteen minutes iron it on the wrong side with ver}^ hot irons. This applies only 
to black silk, black ribbons, cravats, etc. 

Another AVay. — Black silks can be renewed by sponging with alcohol, and 
afterward with a little potato water, and winding them around a roller without 
ironing. The method of preparing the potato water is this : Pare and slice a 
good sized potato, and pour about a pint of warm water upon it ; let it stand in 
a warm (not hot) place for half an hour, and it will be fit for use. Crape veils 
are renewed by winding them on a board and steaming over boiling potatoes. 

To RemoTe Grease from Silk. — Put French chalk upon the wrong 
side, allow it to remain twenty-four hours ; then split a common business card, 
lay the rough side next to the powder and pass a warm flat-iron over it. 

Second Method. — Fuller's earth, perfectly dried (so that it may crumble 
into a powder), is to be moistened, with the clear juice of lemons, and a small 
quantity of pure pearl ashes or saleratus is to be added. Knead the whole care- 
fully together, till it acquires the consistence of a thick, elastic paste ; form it 
into convenient small balls and dr\- them in the sun. 

To use, first moisten the spot on the clothes with water, then rub it with the 
ball, and let the spot dr}- in the sun after having washed it with pure water, the 
spot will entirely disappear 



580 THE MANAGEMENT OF FABRICS. 

Third Method, —A lady writes : " I have cleaned wheel grease from a 
nice silk thus : Laying the silk on a clean sheet folded to eight thicknesses, I 
rubbed the greased part with a soft cloth dipped in lard, moving the silk to a 
new spot frequently. 

"After a time the wheel grease all went through, leaving only clean lard. This 
was then cleaned out in the same way, by rubbing it with some nice soap and 
alcohol, using a clean cloth to rub with, and frequently changing to a new spot 
on the underlying sheet. The silk was then laid on a clean cloth, and rubbed 
dry with a soft cloth. A friend cleaned white Canton crape in this way, and 
you cannot find a place where it was greased." 

Paper Wrappings for Silk.— Silk articles should not be kept folded 
in white paper, as the chloride of lime used in bleaching the paper will probably 
impair the color of the silk. Brown or blue paper is better; the yellowish, 
smooth Indian paper is best of all. Silk intended for dress should not be kept 
long in the house before it is made up, as lying in the folds will have a tendency 
to impair its durability by causing it to cut or split. If it must be kept, change 
now and then the position of the folds. 

To Take Creases Out of Silk. — Hard silk should never be wrinkled, 
because the thread is easily broken in the crease, and it never can be rectified. 
The way to take the wrinkles out of silk scarfs or handkerchiefs is to moisten 
the surface evenly with a sponge and some weak glue, and then pin the silk 
with toilet pins around the selvedges on a mattress or a feather bed, taking 
pams to draw out the silk as tight as possible. 

When dry, the wrinkles have disappeared. The reason of this is obvious to 
every person. It is a nice job to dress light colored silk, and few should try it. 
Some silk articles may be moistened with weak glue or gum arable water, and 
wrinkles ironed out on the wrong side by a hot flat-iron. 

To Make Cloth Water-proof. — In a bucket of soft water put half a 
pound of sugar of lead and half a pound of powdered alum ; stir this at inter- 
vals until it becomes clear, then pour it off into another bucket, and put the 
garment therein, and let it be in for twenty-four hours, and then hang it up to 
dry without wringing it. The rain hangs upon the cloth in globules, but will 
not penetrate it at all. 

Another W^ay. — Take one-fourth ounce of yellow soap ; boil twenty min- 
utes in one gallon rain water ; skim, and when cold, put in the cloth ; let it soak 
for twenty-four hours ; take it out and hang up to drain, and when it is half dry, 
put it into a solution of half a pound of alum, quarter pound of sugar of lead, 
dissolved in four gallons of rain water. 

When the cloth has been thoroughly soaked, hang it up to dry. This will 
not alter the appearance of the cloth, and will resist many hours of rain. , Still 
another way is to coat the cloth with linseed oil, to which a little wax and lith- 
arge have been added, and it will become water-proof. 



THE MANAGEMENT OF FABRICS. 581 

8iz!iig^ for Cloth. — Dissolve a little India rubber in boiling oil or turpen- 
tine, and add a little of this to thin paste while both are hot. This is the best 
size for cloth. 

Black Coatings for Clotli. — Equal parts of yellow ocher and lamp- 
black ; mix with it an equal quantity in bulk of strong, boiling soap suds. Lay 
on as thick as the brush will spread. In three days finish with black paint. 

To Rai§e tlie Xap on Clotli. — Soak in cold water for half an hour, 
then put on a board, and rub the threadbare parts with a half worn hatter's 
card, filled with flocks, or with a prickly thistle, until a nap is raised. Hang up 
to dr\-, and with a hard brush lay the nap the right way. 

Ho^v to Bru§li Gentlemen's Clothes. — Have a wooden horse to 
put the clothes on, and a small cane to beat the dust out of them ; also a board 
or table long enough for them to be put their whole length when brushing 
them. Have two brushes, one a hard bristle, the other soft; use the hardest 
for the great coats, and for the others when spotted with dirt. 

Fine cloth coats should never be brushed with too hard a brush, as this will 
take off the nap and make them look bare in a little time. Be careful in the 
choice of the cane ; do not have it too large, and be particular not to hit too 
hard. Be careful also not to hit the buttons, for it will scratch, if not break 
them ; therefore, a small hand whip is the best to beat with. 

If a coat be wet and spotted with dirt, let it be quite dry before brushing it ; 
then rub out the spots with the hands, taking care not to rumple it in so doing. 
If it wants beating do it as before directed, then put the coat at its full length on 
a board ; let the collar be toward the left hand and the brush in the right. 

Brush the back of the collar first, between the two shoulders next, and then 
the sleeves, etc., observing to brush the cloth the same way that the nap goes, 
which is toward the skirt of the coat. When both sides are properly done 
fold them together ; then brush the inside, and last of all the collar. 

To Dry-Clean Cloth. — Dip a brush in warm gall and apply it to greasy 
places, rinse it off in cold water ; dr}- by the fire, then lay the coat flat, strew 
damp sand over it, and with a brush beat the sand into the cloth ; then brush 
it out with a hard brush, and the sand will bring away the dirt. Rub a drop of 
oil of olives over with a soft brush to brighten the colors. 

HoAV to Clean a Coat Collar. — Obtain from drug store some soap- 
tree bark. Break a piece about two inches square into small bits, and pour 
over it half a pint of boiling water ; let it stand an hour or two, then sponge the 
collar well with the liquor ; a second sponging with clear water will clean it 
nicely. Both washing and rinsing water should be as warm as for flannel. 

To Clean Men's Old Clothes. — Whip and brush thoroughly. Remove 
grease spots with ammonia, and with alcohol and water, equal parts, diminish 
the gloss of hard goods. 

Dealers in old clothes give the garments a new appearance by use of tobacco. 



582 THE MANAGEMENT OF FABRICS. 

They put two ounces of common tobacco boiled in half a gallon of water. In 
the hot decoction they dip a stiff brush, and rub the clothes thoroughly in all 
directions, no matter what color of cloth. When the liquid is well penetrated,, 
they rub in one direction thoroughly, and suspend the cloth to dry ; by this 
treatment it becomes clean and lustrous, and, singularly, no tobacco smell will 
remain. 

To Renovate an Old Coat. — First clean the coat of dirt and grease, 
then take one gallon of a strong decoction of logwood, made by boiling logwood 
chips in water. Strain this liquid, and when cool add two ounces of gum ara- 
ble in powder, which should be kept in well stoppered bottles for use. 

Then go gently over the coat with a sponge wet in the above liquid, diluted 
to suit the color, and hang it in the shade to dry. After which, brush the nap 
smooth, and it will look as good as new. The liquid will suit all brown or dark 
colors if properly diluted, of which it is easy to judge. 

To Revive Faded Blaek Cloth. — Having cleaned it well, boil two 
or three ounces of logwood for half an hour. Dip it in warm water and squeeze 
it dry, then put it into the copper kettle, and boil half an hour. Take it out and 
add a small piece of green copperas, and boil it another half hour. 

Hang it in the air for an hour or two, then rinse it in two or three cold waters, 
dry it, and let it be regularly brushed with a soft brush, over which" one or two 
drops of oil of olives have been rubbed. 

Another Way. — Boil two or three ounces of logwood in vinegar, and 
when the color is extracted, drop in a piece of carbonate of iron as large as a 
chestnut ; let it boil. Have the coat or pantaloons well sponged with soap and 
hot water, laying them on a table, and brush the nap down with a sponge. 
Then take the dye upon the table and sponge them all over with it, taking care 
to keep them smooth and brush downward. 

When completely wet with dye, dissolve a teaspoonful of saleratus in warm 
water, and sponge all over with this, and it sets the color so completely that 
nothing rubs off. They must not be wrung nor wrinkled, but carefully hung up 
to drain. The brownest cloth may be made a perfect black in this simple 
manner. 

To Repair Men's Clothes. — If elbows and knees of coats and pants 
are stretched into a swelling shape, after all sewing is done lay a damp cloth 
upon them, fold them up, and let them remain thus an hour. Then lay them 
on a table ; smooth them with the palm of the hand ; pull them gently, all ways. 
Continue this till the swelling is reduced — elbows and knees straight and flat. 
Then press the garments on the wrong side, finishing those places first. 

If a black article of clothing gets rusty, dilute a little ink with warm water, 
and sponge it well with this — for seams and edges use a pen ; button holes 
often need this treatment. If the shoulders look quite gray take the ink undi- 
luted, and be sure to rub it in well, and then press it. 



THE MANAGEMENT OF FABRICS. 583 

Ho^v to Make a Sliirt. — Take an old shirt that is a good fit, rip it to 
pieces, and cut out the new one by it, baste it together and try it on. After you 
have got it to fit nicely, unbaste it and cut out a pattern, allowing for the seams 
and marking all the hems, gathers, etc., by notches, so it will be just right to 
cut your cloth by. 

But few ladies are compelled now to make bosoms, as they can be bought for 
a trifle more than the linen would cost. Putting the bosom into the shirt is the 
first thing to be done after it is cut. Double the front of the shirt in the mid- 
dle, also double the bosom and lay it upon the shirt exactly square and even all 
around, then cut out a piece one inch wider than the bosom and half an inch 
shorter. 

Unfold shirt and bosom, commence at4he top of each side and sew the bosom 
in place of the piece you cut out. Then lay a plait»at the bottom and upon each 
side, both plaits of a size and large enough to make the bosom set smooth ; 
stitch the bottom across, turn the bosom under and hem it down, it being half 
an inch too long, having been left so for that special purpose, and saves sewing 
a tape across as some do. 

The. object of making a plait in the- shirt at the bottom of the bosom is to 
make the front of the shirt narrow. The back you will at once see needs to be 
wider than the front, to give freedom to the arms and shoulders ; if both sides 
are of a width the bosom will shrug together and set out beyond the vest in a 
manner you may have seen, but could not explain. 

Line the front of the shirt the whole length and width from the bosom back 
to the arm size. Some only face a narrow strip just around the arm size, but 
the best way by far is to line the whole back from the neck down to the bottom 
of the arm size and the front as before said. 

The quickest and easiest way to sew up seams in shirts and all other under- 
garments is in this wise : Sew up your garment or sleeve upon the right or out- 
side, trim the seam very small, turn and sew up again on the wrong side, and 
your seam is quickly and neatly finished without felling, which is a branch of 
sewing most ladies dislike very much to do. The first time sewing the seam, the 
stitches may be long, if the cotton is strong, but the second time it must be 
done tight and well, and you will find the seam strong and soft. 

To Do Up Shirt Bo§oiiis. — Take two ounces of white gum arabic, 
put in a pitcher and pour on a pint or more of boiling water, according to the 
degree of strength you desire, and then, having covered it, let it stand all night. 
In the morning pour it carefully from the dregs into a clean bottle, cork and keep 
it for use. 

A tablespoonful of gum water should be stirred in a pint of starch made in 
the usual manner. This will also give to lawns, either white or printed, a look 
of newness when nothing else can restore them after they have been washed. 

Another Way. — Take half an ounce each of white wax, isinglass and 



584 THE MANAGEMENT OF FABRICS. 

gum arable, and half a teaspoonful of alcohol, and put them into a gill of boil- 
ing water, and after a good shaking, bottle. To a quart of starch add a tea- 
spoonful of the mixture. Starch the linen while wet. 

T© Mak.e Fal>ric§ Fire-proof. — By using a strong solution of alum 
for rinsing water it will positively make cottons fire-proof. Mothers who "sit 
on thorns" at school concerts and exhibitions, watching the dangerous proximity 
of gossamer dresses to the foot lights, will appreciate this advantage. And so 
far from injuring the looks of the musHn, there is no other treatment that will 
so brighten and improve the colors. 

How To Iron Clotlies.-One who knows by practical experience of 
what she speaks, says : That the ironing board should have a slip cover, and the 
same be washed each fortnight, and besides there should be a large piece of thin 
cotton to lay over starched things to take the first pressure of the iron. This 
piece must be fine, for coarse cloth will leave the impress of its thread on nice 
fabrics. 

A bowl of clear water, with a clean sponge or soft brush, or worn white rag, 
must be ready for dampening spots that have dried since folding, or have not 
ironed smoothly. The table ought to be solid, without leaves, and a high chair 
should be provided, so that one may sit close to the board, touching it with the 
waist. 

It is just as convenient to iron sitting as standing, if one gets used to it, and 
most of the fatigue of ironing comes from standing long at a time. A house- 
keeper who knows how to be good to herself — as every woman ought to be — 
will have a table for ironing with one side hollowed out, like the cutting boards 
which seamstresses use in their laps. 

To Iron Velvet Ribl>on. — Dampen the under side slightly, and draw it 
backward and forward over a hot stove pipe until the velvet is quite dry. A 
still better plan — though in winter it is not always as convenient — is to lay a 
wet piece of cotton cloth on a hot flat-iron placed upside down, and while the 
steam is rising from it, to draw the under side of the velvet tightly backward and 
forward over the wet cloth. 

To Rai§e tlie IVap of Velvet. — Place a dampened towel over the face 
of a moderately hot flat-iron. Lay the piece of velvet on this immediately, and 
while the steam is passing through, brush briskly in the direction that will raise 
the nap ; a nail brush will answer the purpose. I have found this method the 
most effectual of various ones tried. 

To 'Wa§Ia Lace. — Wind a large bottle with white flannel, baste on the lace, 
taking care not to draw it out of shape, and cover with more flannel. Prepare 
a fine suds, and cleanse the lace by passing swiftly through the water and by 
squeezing and patting it. Change the water once or twice, then remove the 
outside flannel and rinse. If starch is used it should be very thin. 

To iron, lay the lace upon several thicknesses of flannel, cover with flannel, 



THE MANAGEMENT OF FABRICS. 585 

and press with a warm iron on the wrong side, lightly. If the lace is kept in a 
box with a Httle magnesia sprinkled over, it will retain its whiteness for a long 
time. The magnesia is also good for removing oily substances that may accu- 
mulate upon collars from the hair. 

To Smootli Itibl>oii. — Place a moderately hot flat-iron on the ironing 
board, the ribbon under the iron, and pull it carefully through. If the ribbon is 
■not pulled too fast, and the iron is the right warmth, this will be found to be a 
much better way than simply rubbing the iron over the ribbon. 

To Clean Black Ribboii§. — Take an old black kid glove, no matter 
how old, and boil i"". in a pint of water for a short time ; then let it cool until 
the leather can be taken in the hand without burning ; use the glove wet with 
the water to sponge off the ribbon. 

If the ribbon is very dirty, dip it into the water and draw it through the fin- 
gers a few times before sponging with the glove. After cleaning, lay a piece of 
paper over the ribbon and iron ; paper is better than cloth. The ribbon will 
look like new. 

To "Wasli Ribbons. — If dingy and greasy, rub the yolk of an ^g% upon 
them, or French chalk upon the wrong side, and let it dry ; then lay it upon a clean 
cloth, and wash upon each side with a sponge, and press upon the wrong side. 
If very much soiled, use bran water, and add to the rinsing water a little muri- 
ate of tin to set red ; oil of vitriol for green, blue, maroon and bright yellow. 

To Rene"\v Silk or Ribbon§. — Scrape several large potatoes and put 
a pint of cold water over them. When settled, pour it off ; spread your silk 
upon the table and wet with a sponge a small part of the silk, and iron with a 
ilat just a little warmer than you can handle with your hands bare. If it is too 
liot it will injure the silk. 

To stiffen ribbons or old silk, take a lump of gum arable about as large as a 
hickory nut ; dissolve it in a half pint of water and dip the silks or ribbons in it, 
and iron them immediately. If they are soiled they should be washed and 
dipped in a weak solution of alum water. 

To Clean Oold and Silver Lace. — Gold and silver lace may be cleaned 
by sewing it in clean linen cloth, boihng it in a pint of soft water and two ounces 
of soap and washing it in cold water. If it be tarnished, apply a little warm 
alcohol to the tarnished parts. 

To Starch Black Calico.— Make a strong tea of fig leaves, and mix the 
starch with this. Wash the print in three waters and rinse in the fig leaf water. 
When nearly dr}- fold the fabric, let it remain so for thirty minutes, and then 
iron. 

HoAV to ^Vasli Tatting-. — Get a common stone bottle (a quart porter 
bottle will do) and sew a piece of thin flannel evenly all over it ; wrap the tat- 
ting on, carefully tacking each row as flatly as possible to the flannel. 

Sew a piece of tarlatan or very thin muslin over it, leaving the tarlatan long 



586 THE MANAGEMENT OF FABRICS. 

enough to tie firmly, both at the bottom and top of the bottle. Sink the bottle 
in a large basin of cold water and soak it overnight. 

Cut up a piece of white soap, put it in a large stew pan of water with the 
bottle, and stew for six hours ; if the tatting does not look quite clean, rub the 
bottle a little with the hand and more soap, and stew it again ; rinse well in 
clear, cold water, and put the bottle in the sun or near the fire to dry, when the 
tatting can be taken off. If it has been tacked on well, and in its proper form„ 
h will be just like new tatting. 

How to Do Up Laces. — When one has any fine handkerchiefs, embroid- 
ery, or laces, to do up, it is a good way to put them in a broad, earthen basin, in 
fair, soft water ; let them remain three days, then put them in a stone jar, in cold,, 
soft water, rubbing with Castile soap any spots there may be upon them, and 
setting the jar on the back part of the stove, let the water come slowly to a boil. 
Then remove and rinse in fair, cold water, in which is the least suspicion of 
bluing. 

Make a thin starch and boil until perfectly clear ; a trifle of spermaceti or white 
beeswax adds a polish. Into this is dipped each article separately, which is then 
dried sufficiently to iron, being alternately clapped between the hands and spread 
out to the warm rays of the sun in the summer, or before the blaze of a clear 
fire — wood is the best — in winter. 

Have ready a clean, dry towel, and, as soon as each article is dry enough to 
iron, lay it in this towel and give it a tight roll. Lay it on baby flannel to iron 
and have the flat heated as hot as possible without danger of scorching. The 
heat of the iron should always be tried upon a piece of waste cloth kept for the 
purpose. In using the iron, the touch should be firm and quick. 

A fine linen rag, wet with cold water, should be at hand to rub any article 
that may have become too dry. Laces require very little starch. A lump or 
two of white sugar dissolved in a coffee cupful of water will impart all the stiff- 
ness they need. Where it is considered desirable to retain the slightly yellow 
shade of real lace, add a teaspoonful of coffee to the sugar and water. 

To Wash Bombazine. — Put a teaspoonful of ox gall to a gallon of suds. 
Put the clothes through by hand pressure ; no rubbing. Rinse in lukewarm 
water in which a little gum arable has been dissolved and thoroughly incorpor- 
ated. Do not wring, but squeeze out the water, and when dry enough press 
gently with a warm iron upon the wrong side. 

To Wash Fine Fabrics. — Laces and fine things should be washed in 
hot soft water. Well soap them and squeeze and shake out, but on no account 
rub them. Repeat the squeezing and shaking out till they are clean. Rinse 
them in some more clean hot water, and well soap them again, and put them 
into a saucepan with enough hot water to cover them. 

Soft water is best, but if that cannot be procured, add a piece of soda — say 
a quarter of an ounce to half a gallon of water, according to the hardness of 



METHODS OF BLEACHING. 587 

the water. Boil for half an hour. Then wash them out again, and rinse in 
cold blue water. Hang them on a clothes horse till drj^ when they can be 
starched. Lastly, roll them up in a dry cloth for two hours, by which time 
they will be fit to iron. 



METHODS OF BLEACHING. 



To Bleacli a Straw Hat. — Scrape stick sulphur with a knife, mix the 
powder to a mush "vith water, plaster it thickly over the straw, and place in the 
sun for several hours ; brush off when dr}-. An easy and effectual plan.. 
Another way is to burn brimstone in a box containing the hat. 

To Bleach Fabrics, Etc. — Put a kettle with some lighted charcoal 
into a close room, or large box ; then strew one or two ounces of powdered 
brimstone on the hot coals. Hang the articles in the room or box, make the 
door fast, and let them hang some hours. Fine colored woolens are thus sul- 
phured before dyed, and straw bonnets are thus bleached. 

To Bleach Cotton Cloth. — Tie a quart of ashes in a cloth ; boil in. 
water to make a white lye ; put your lye into a tub of hot suds, tie up tightly in 
a stout piece of cloth, one-half cent's worth of chloride of lime to each yard of 
cloth you wish to bleach, take two small pieces of boards and rub the Hme 
through the rag. When it is dissolved, use plenty of water and put in your 
cloth, stirring it often for half an hour, then rinse it thoroughly. Don't be afraid 
of rinsing too much ; if you put your lime into the tub without rubbing it 
through a cloth to dissolve it, you will surely find holes in your cloth, as there 
will be small lumps that will not dissolve. 

Second ^^fethocl. — To about sixteen yards, or say half a bolt of cloth, use 
half a pound chloride of lime. Have the water hot, and make it quite strong of 
suds before putting in the lime. Be sure the lime is thoroughly dissolved before 
putting in the goods, for if there are particles of it remaining undissolved they 
will eat holes through the cloth. Have w^ater enough in the tub to thoroughly 
cover the cloth, and while it is in, stir it constantly and often lift it to the surface 
to let it have the air. This must be strictly attended to. 

The cloth should not remain in the water more than three-quarters of an 
hour, and often half an hour will be long enough — the judgment as to time 
must be used somewhat. Then take out, rinse thoroughly in warm water and 
dr^'. This process is often a convenient one to have performed ; but for obtain- 
ing the real ser\'ice of the cloth, there is no better way than that of making up 
the garments from unbleached goods and bleaching them by the natural mode 
of wearing and washing. 



588 METHODS OF BLEACHING. 

Third Method. — To a pint of water add one ounce of oxalic acid, and 
use a tumblerful of this to three gallons of water. Stir well while the cloth is 
in the water, and rinse twice. Some use borax for bleaching by putting a small 
teacupful of borax into twelve gallons of soft water, and boiling the cloth in the 
same. 

To Bleach Brown Cloth. — Boil the cloth in weak lye, then let it hang 
on a line or lie upon the grass for a few days. If the sun is hot, sprinkle the 
cloth twice a day, so as to keep it damp. 

To Bleach a Faded Bress. — Wash it well in hot suds and boil it 
until the color seems to be gone, then wash and rinse and dry in the sun. If 
not sufficiently white, repeat the boihng, adding a handful of chloride of lime 
and a gill of vinegar to the water, instead of soap. Good prints and other arti- 
cles of dress are frequently cast aside because they are faded ; but they may 
-again render good service by this mode of bleaching. 

To Bleach Forest Ferns. — Gather them after the frost has turned 
them brown or yellow. Then put them in a solution of chloride of soda (not 
limej, one-third soda and two water, and let them stand in the sun until white, 
then rinse them in clear water ; flatten then on a piece of glass, carefully wipe 
them with a soft cloth, and press them between blotting paper. The pressure 
should be made by placing the blotting paper between the leaves of a book, not 
with an iron. When dry they are ready for use. 

Bleaching Fluid for Washing. — Into a bucket of boiling water put 
a pound of lime, and let it stand overnight. Next day put over the fire two 
pounds of sal soda in two gallons of water. Let it simmer until all is thoroughly 
dissolved ; then pour the lime water into the soda water, mix thoroughly, cool 
and put away in glass, as it will eat holes in stone jars. A half teacupful of 
this fluid to three pails of water, when clothes are boiled, will make them beauti- 
fully clear and white. If any crumbs of lime fall on the clothes they will leave 
yellow spots. 

Another Preparation. — One of the best bleaching and emollient agents 
that can be employed in washing clothing, is common refined borax pulverized. 
It should be dissolved in hot water, at the rate of half a pound to ten gallons. 
A great saving in soap is effected by its use. 

To Bleach Beesivax. — Melt the wax and add for each pound two 
ounces of nitrate of soda, and one ounce of sulphuric acid diluted with nine 
parts of water. The latter should be added very slowly, while the melted wax 
is constantly stirred with a glass rod. It is then cooled and set aside after fill- 
ing the vessel with boiling water. Washing the wax with boiling water until no 
trace of the acid remains completes the process. 

Another Way. — Slice the wax into thin sheets, and pass a string through 
them, and hang them in a window exposed to the light and sun. When suffi- 
ciently whitened, they can be melted and made into any form desired. 



HOW TO REMOVE STAINS. 589. 

HOW TO REMOVE STAINS. 



To Take Smoke Stains from Walls. — An easy and sure way 
remove smoke stains from common plain ceilings, is to miy wood ashes with 
the whitewash just before applying. A pint of ashes to a small pail of white- 
wash is sufficient, but a little more or less will do no harm. 

To Remove Stains from Broadelotli. — Take an ounce of pipe clay, 
which has been ground fine, mix it with twelve drops of alcohol and the same 
quantity of spirits of turpentine. Whenever you wish to remove any stains- 
from cloth, moisten a little of this mixture with alcohol and rub it on the spots. 
Let it remain till dry, then rub it off with a woolen cloth, and the spots will dis- 
appear. 

To Remove Red Stains of Fruit from Linen. — Moisten the 
cloth and hold it over a piece of burning sulphur, then wash thoroughly, or else 
the spots may reappear. 

To Remove Oil Stains. — Take three ounces of spirits of turpentine,, 
and one ounce of essence of lemon ; mix well, ^:k1 apply it as you would an}^ 
other scouring drops. It will take out all the grease. 

To Remove Iron Stains. — The part stained should be --emoistened 
with ink, and this is removed by the use of muriatic acid, diluted with five or 
six times its weight of water, when it will be found that the old and new stains 
will Le removed simultaneously. 

iknother Method. — Iron stains may be removed by the salt ot lemons, 
"i/iany stains may be removed by dipping the linen in sour buttermilk, and then 
drying it in a hot sun ; wash it in cold water ; repeat this three or four times. 

Still Another Method. — Squeeze lemon juice into a cup, add a pinch 
of salt, and rub the stain in this. Then wash in clear, tepid water. Sponge 
goods that cannot be rubbed. Lay in the sun until dry. Repeat the applica- 
tion, if necessary, until the stain is removed. With some blacks the matter 
might be made worse. A piece of the material having iron rust should be 
tried first. 

To Remove Oil Stains from Wood. — Mix together fuller's earth 
and soap lees, and rub it into the boards. Let it dry and then scour it off with 
some strong soft soap and sand, or use lees to scour it with. It should be put 
on hot, which may easily be done by heating the lees. 

Another Method. — Pour one teaspoonful of turpentine on the spot and 
let it remain five or ten minutes, then take one tablespoonful of soft soap and 
spread over the spot, let it remain a few minutes, then pour on boiling water, 
scrub with a brush broom, wash and wipe dry — if the grease has not disap- 
peared, repeat the process, or mix together fuller's earth and soap sediment, and 
rub it into the boards : let it dry, and then scour with soap and sand. 



590 HOW TO REMOVE STAINS. 

To Remove Stains from Scorched Ooods. — If the scorch is not 
an absolute burn, it may be removed by boiling the fabric in milk, turpentine and 
soap. To half a gallon of milk use half a pound of soap and half a teacupful 
of turpentine. Be careful about exposing turpentine to fire. 

To Remove Stains from tlie Hands.— Rubbing the fingers with 
the inside of the parings of apples will remove most of the stain caused by 
paring. A few drops of oil vitriol (sulphuric acid) in water, will take the stains 
of fruit, dark dyes, stove blacking, etc., from the hands without injuring them. 
Care must, however, be taken not to drop it upon the clothes. It will remove 
the color from woolen and eat holes in cotton fabrics. 

To Remove Ink. from Clotli. — Ink may be removed from cotton, silk 
or woolen goods by saturating the spots with spirits of turpentine, and let it 
remain several hours ; then rub it between the hands. It will disappear, it is 
said, without injuring either the color or the texture of the article. 

Another Method. — The moment you spill ink, take a little milk and satu- 
rate the stain ; soak it with a rag and apply a little more milk, rubbing it in well ; 
in a few minutes the ink will be completely removed. See page 216. 

To Remove Ink from Linen. — A good way to take ink out of linen 
is to immerse the part that has ink on it in boihng hot tallow. When cool wash 
■out in soap suds, and it is said the linen will be as white as ever. 

Another Method. — Many stains will yield to good washing in pure, soft, 
warm water. Alcohol will remove almot any discoloration. Almost any stain 
or iron rust, or mildew, may be removed by dipping in a moderately strong solu- 
tion of nitric acid, then covered with salt, and kept in the sun. This may require 
to be repeated many times. 

To Remove Ink from Common Paper. — Shake well together one 
pound of chloride of lime in four quarts of soft water. Then let it stand for 
twenty-four hours, after which strain through a clean, cotton cloth and add one 
teaspoonful of acetic acid to an ounce of chloride of lime water. Apply this to 
the blot and the ink will disappear. Absorb the fluid with a blotter. See page 216. 

To Remove Ink Stains from Mahogany. — Touch the stains with 
a feather dipped in a mixture composed of a few drops of niter and a teaspoon- 
ful of water. To prevent a white mark being left, rub the spot with a cloth wet 
in cold water. 

Old Ink Stains on Fabrics. — Oxalic acid is probably the best material 
to use ; it is an acid made from sorrel and a natural enemy to ink. Care should 
be taken to touch to the solution only the inked spot, providing its fabric is 
colored, as it will also loosen the color. If its color is started, rinse in warm 
water, then dip into a solution of ammonia about six drops to a quart of water. 
Go through with the operation rapidly. 

Ink also, if washed out or sopped up from the carpet with cold water imme- 
diately when it is spilled, can be almost entirely removed. See page 216. 



HOW TO REMOVE STAINS. 591 

To Remove Kerosene Stains. — To drive it completely from any fabric, 
from paper, or from wood, it must be heated high enough to form a vapor, when^ 
if pure, it may be completely removed. Heat may be applied to the floor by 
using flat-iron ssufflciently hot, first placing a piece of paper over the spot. It 
may be that after the oil is driven from the surface by heat, the stain will reap- 
pear ; some of the oil remaining in the wood will be brought to the surface by 
capillary attraction. In such a case it will be necessary to repeat the operation 
as often as the stain appears. 

To Remove Lime Spots. — Lime and acids do not really stain, but spot 
by the removal of color, and ammonia is the best remedy. A tablespoonful of 
ammonia in one^llon of water will often restore the 'color of carpets, even if 
dissolved by acid or alkah. If a ceiling has been whitewashed with the carpet 
down, and a few drops should fall, this will remove it. 

To Remove Apple Stains. — Hold the stained cloth over an empty ves- 
sel, and pour boiling water on it slowly, filtering through. If this fails to remove 
the stains, dissolve a few grains of oxalic acid in half a pint of cold, soft water 
and dip the cloth in it. A few dippings, I think, will remove the stains. A solu- 
tion of it kept in a bottle for toilet use is convenient in freeing the hands of stains. 
Lemon juice and salt exterminate ink spots and other stains in white goods. 

To Remove Walnut Stains. — Rub with slices of sour apple or pear ; 
the cleansing power being due, it is supposed, to the presence of the acetic 
acid. If the stains be at once thoroughly washed in fresh water, without using 
soap, they may be made to disappear almost entirely ; soap is unadvisable, since 
its alkali acts as a mordant and fixes the color. The use of clay with water is 
very good. The clay scours the color off. 

To Take Fruit Spots from Fabrics. — Let the spotted part of the 
cloth imbibe a little water without dipping, and hold the part over a lighted 
common brimstone match at a proper distance. The sulphurous acid gas, which 
is discharged, soon causes the spots to disappear. Or, wet the spot with chlorme 
water. 

Another Way. — Fruit stains may be removed from linen by first pouring 
hot water on the spot, then wetting with hartshorn or oxalic acid. The pro- 
portions of either are a teaspoonful to a teacup of water. 

To Remove Orass Stains. — Boiling water will remove the color. Pour 
boiling water through the stain and it sets the green coloring matter loose, rins- 
ing it away. Grass stain, after washing with soap suds, makes a dirt-colored 
mark, and remains an ugly blot on children's white clothing. 

To Take Stains out of Silver Plate. — Steep the plate in soap lyes 
for the space of four hours ; then cover it -over with w^hiting, wet with vinegar, 
so that it may stick thick upon it, and dry it by a fire ; after which, rub off" the 
whiting, and rub it over with dry bran, and the spots will not only disappear, 
but the plate will look exceedingly bright. 



592 DYES AND DYEING. 

To Remove Tea Stains. — Mix thorougly soft soap and salt — say a 
tablespoonful of salt to a teacupful of soap ; rub on the spots, and spread the 
cloth on the grass where the sun will shine on it. Let it lie two or three days, 
then wash. If the stains are not all out, they will appear in the second wash- 
ing. If the spots are wet occasionally while lying on the grass, it will hasten 
the bleaching. 

To Remove Stains from Piekling'. — If you have been pickling or 
handling any acid fruit and have stained your hands, wash them in clear water,, 
wipe them lightly, and while they are yet moist strike a sulphur match and shut 
your hands over and around it, so as to catch the smoke, and the stains will 
disappear. 

To Remove Stains from Muslin. — If you have stained your muslin 
or gingham dress, or your white pants with berries, before wetting with any- 
thing else, pour boiling water through the stains and they will disappear. Be- 
fore fruit juice dries it can often be removed by cold water, using a sponge and 
towel if necessary. 

To Remove Acid Stains. — Stains caused by acids may be removed by 
tying some pearlash up in the stained part ; scrape some soap in cold soft 
water, and boil the linen until the stain is gone. 



DYES AND DYEING. 



To Color Blue. — There are very many different modes for dyeing blue; 
the most of them, however, embody as chief materials either woad, aniline or 
indigo. Woad contains coloring material so very similar to that of indigo, and 
so much less in quantity, that the latter is almost always used, or was before 
the advent of aniline. Almost every farmer's wife and daughter knows how to 
make the old fashioned blue dye, yet all of them do not know how to make it 
right or how to treat the fabric to obtain the best results. 

The Saxon Blue. — The Saxon blue is very pretty and permanent, and not 
difficult to make. The dye for silk .nd wool is made in small amounts by dis- 
solving one ounce indigo in four ounces concentrated sulphuric acid ; to this 
solution add one ounce of dry carbonate of potash, then dilute the whole with 
eight times the weight of soft water. This solution is called sulphate of indigo, 
and is ready to be used as soon as the fabric is prepared for it. 

To prepare the clothes — or whatever is to be colored — for the dye, wash clean 
and boil in a solution made by adding to water for every two pounds of fabric, 
five ounces of alum and three ounces of tartar ; use enough water to cover the 
cloth. After boiling a short time drain out, and put into a water bath, to which 



DYES AND DYEING. 593 

has been added enough of the sulphate of indigo to makfe the shade you desire, 
and boil until color is well taken. 

The best way is to use no more water for the bath than is required to cover 
the fabric ; heat it up, add the sulphate of indigo, and obtain the right strength 
by testing it with a small piece of cloth before the articles to be colored are put 
in. After the required shade is obtained, rinse, stretch and iron the usual way. 

Common Blue Dye. — A common blue dye for woolen goods is made by 
powdering fine half an ounce of Spanish indigo, and pouring upon it half a 
pound of oil vitriol, stir well together, add a lump of pearlash the size of a pea, 
and as soon as fermentation is ended, bottle, and it will be fit for use in twenty- 
four hours. Make the dye to suit the fancy by putting the solution in warm 
water. Wash the articles to be colored well, and after remaining in the warm 
dye long enough to get the desired shade take out the fabric and dry it, then 
wash in lukewarm suds, rinse, etc. 

Another Formula. — Dissolve two tablespoonfuls of copperas in four gal- 
lons of. water ; wet the goods in warm suds, and let them remain ten minutes 
in the copperas water ; dissolve fifteen cents' worth of prussiate of potash in 
four gallons of water ; put the goods into it and let them remain five minutes ; 
then remove, and add to the potash water one and a half tablespoonfuls of oil of 
vitriol ; then put the goods again into the dye, and let them come to a boil ; 
dry in the sun. 

Permanent Blue for Wool. — Take two ounces of the best indigo, in fine 
powder, sufficient warm water, and add six pounds of wool in the grease ; put the 
whole into a kettle large enough to contain all the wool to be dyed. As soon as 
the requisite color is obtained, let the wool be well washed and dried. The 
liquor remaining may be again used to produce lighter blues. The color will be 
as beautiful and permanent as the finest blue produced by woad, and the wool, 
by this method, will lose less in weight than if it had been previously scoured. 

Blue for Cotton and Linen. — A good dye for these is made of one 
ounce each of indigo (Spanish is the best) and sulphate of iron, and two ounces 
of quicklime; dissolve in water and treat very similar to the mode given for 
dyeing silk and wool. 

Shades of Color from Prussian Blue. — Impregnate each parcel of 
silk to be dyed with a different proportion of the oxide of iron by immersing it 
in a solution, the strength of which has been regulated accordingly. For the 
deeper tones of color employ the acetate, and for the others the chloride or sul- 
phate. 

After having properly rinsed (in separate water) each parcel, it is to be 
dipped into distinct baths of the prussiate of potash, the quantity of which has 
been made to correspond with the quantity of oxide of iron previously united 
to it. 

With these precautions all the desired shades may be obtained. Those which 



594 DYES AND DYEING. 

are light and have a greenish cast should be well washed in river water, which 
will soon produce the blue in its purity. If this does not happen, a very weak 
solution of muriatic acid will produce the effect to a certainty. 

Anllltie !^lue. — Aniline I prefer to all other materials for coloring, and it 
is easily prepared. Blue aniline comes in crystals, and in this state has a very 
rich, purple shade, and is generally soluble only in alcohol, at least it is best to 
always use alcohol to cut the crystal. Dissolve two drams of aniline in four 
ounces of alcohol and bottle up ; this amount of the solution is enough to make 
two gallons of dye. 

After the fabric has been prepared for coloring by washing clean, first put 
into the amount of water used for the bath enough sulphuric acid to give it a 
sour taste, then add the solution in amount as above directed or to obtain de- 
sired shade ; put in the cloth or yarn and heat gradually until it boils. Make, 
the rinsing water a little sour with sulphuric acid ; it is better than alum, at 
least for making blue permanent. It should be used only for wool and silk. 

Cotton or linen goods should never be put into any dye containing sulphuric 
acid, for it will rot the fabric, but it has no injurious effect upon silk and wool. 
To color cotton or linen, leave out the acid and use a little alum, but a good 
color cannot be insured. 

To I>ye Siik Slue. — Silk is dyed light blue by a ferment of six parts of 
bran, six of indigo, six of potassa, and one of madder. To dye it a dark blue, 
it must previously receive what is called a ground color ; a red dye stuff, called 
archil, is used for this purpose. 

To I>ye Old I>resse§ Slack. — For four pounds of goods take two 
ounces of copperas and eight ounces of the extract of logwood, or, if you prefer 
instead, three pounds of logwood chips. Put each separately into twelve quarts 
of water, the logwood in an iron vessel, the vitriol in brass ; bring both to a 
boiling heat, dip the cloth into the vitriol water first, then in the logwood water, 
and alternately from one to the other till it has been dipped in each three times. 
Then dry, wash in strong suds, rinse in cold soft water, and press on the wrong 
side while damp. This color does not rub off nor fade, and is good for silk, 
cotton, or lace, but better for wool. 

To Dye Carpet Hags JSlaek. — A nice black may be made by soaking 
logwood chips in warm soft water one day to extract the strength ; pour off the 
hquid and put in the rags or cloth and soak them thoroughly, turning often ; 
after well saturated with dye take out the goods and air them. Add an ounce 
of copperas to the solution, and when dissolved put in the rags, raising and 
turning them every few minutes. After dyeing enough, hang them out, and 
when dry wash in suds and sweet milk ; then rinse and you will have a color to , 
suit. 

To Dye Woolens XBlaek. — Take of nut gall and sulphate of iron each 
iive parts, logwood thirty parts, for every one hundred parts of cloth by weight. 



DYES AND DYEING. 595 

Prepare nut gall separate in decoction and boil cloth two hours in this ; then 
two hours in bath composed of the sulphate of iron and logwood. Keep up to 
a scalding heat, but do not allow it to boil. Frequently lift the goods to allow 
them to air. A little acetate of copper added to the last bath will tend to 
strengthen the color. 

To Dye Chip and Stra^v Hats Black. — Put in a boiling bath of 
logwood for four hours. Remove and give an airing ; add a little copperas to 
the solution, and repeat the boiling, and allow the liquid to cool down with hat 
m. After drying, dress over with a sponge moistened with sweet or olive oil. 
Use but little oil and dress both sides, and press into shape. 

Dyeing Silks 251ack. — -The substances most commonly employed to give 
a black color to fabrics are red oxide of iron, sulphate of iron, copperas, tannin, 
bichromate of potassa and logwood. These substances have a strong affinity 
for each other, and when combined assume a deep black color, not liable to be 
destroyed by the action of air or light. 

Logwood is usually employed because it communicates luster, and adds con- 
siderably to the fullness of the black. The dye for silk is prepared the same as 
that for wool. It is, however, capable of combining a great deal of tan, and the 
one using a dye can govern the matter to suit themselves. The sulphate of 
iron can be dissolved in double its weight of cold water, three-fourths its weight 
of hot or boiling water, but is insoluble in alcohol. 

To Dye Silk Stocking's Black. — These are dyed like other silk or 
woolen garments. At first they will look like an iron gray ; but to finish and black 
them, they must b.e put on wooden legs, laid on a table and rubbed with the 
oily rubber or flannel, upon which is oil of olives, and then the more they are 
rubbed the better. Each pair of stockings will require half a tablespoonful of 
oil, at least, and half an hour's rubbing, to finish them well. Sweet oil is the 
best m this process, as it leaves no disagreeable smell. 

Butternut Bark Black Dye. — Boil a large iron kettle full of butter- 
nut bark for four hours ; take out the bark, put in a spoonful of copperas. If 
you wish a deep black put in more copperas — too much rots the goods. While 
the dye is boiling put in the goods and keep stirring, and once every few min- 
utes lift the goods with a stick into the air, then put them under. And so on, 
keep watching and moving them till you get the shade required. If left folded 
or packed too tight they will be spotted. 

To Dye Wool a Chrome Black. — Having cleaned the wool with soap 
and cream of tartar, take four ounces each of bichromate of potash and crude tar- 
tar to a kettle of water ; put in the merino, boil for forty minutes, and after cool-. 
ing, immerse in a bath made from four ounces of logwood chips with one-fourth 
of fustic chips to a kettle of water. 

To Dye Cotton Yello^v. — Half a pound of sugar of lead dissolved in 
hot water, one-fourth pound of bichromate of potash, dissolved in cold water, 



596 DYES AND DYEING. 

in wood ; dip first in one, then ttie other, until the color suits. For orange, dip 
the above in strong lime water. 

Another Formula. — Wet six pounds of goods thoroughly ; and to the 
same quantity of water add nine ounces of sugar of lead, and to the same 
quantity of water in another vessel, add six ounces bichromate of potash. Dip 
the goods first into the solution of sugar of lead and next into that of the pot- 
ash, and then again into the sugar of lead. Wring out dry, and afterwards 
rinse in cold water. 

Yellow for Carpets. — A lady writes the author of this work, that there 
is nothing nicer to dye with than those spikes of yellow flowers that grow along 
old fences so abundantly, the golden rod. Gather only the flowers, boil them 
in a brass or copper kettle, skim out all the flowers and boil the goods half or 
three-fourths of an hour, stirring frequently. To set the color use alum water, 
but not until after the goods have dried. 

Anotlier Formula. — Take a half bushel of the inside bark of apple trees,, 
cut into small pieces ; place it in a wash boiler ; fill it three-fourths full of soft 
water, and let it boil eight hours ; dissolve three ounces of alum in one gallon 
warm water; wet the goods with it, and wring out and place loosely in the dye; 
stir them round well, and after they have boiled five minutes hang out to dry in 
the sun. This will make a fast color in either wool or cotton. 

To Dye Oolden, Chrome YellOAV.— Heat till boiling, stirring all the 
time, eight and a half ounces sugar of lead, sixteen and a half ounces litharge, 
three gallons of water. Keep boiling about ten minutes ; leave to settle, decant, 
and while warm handle carefully in it the bleached cotton. 

When the cotton is thoroughly impregnated with the subacetate of lead of 
the bath, dry it by a gentle heat, and handle it in a bath of eight and a half 
ounces bichromate of potassa and four ounces of nitric acid. Wash well with 
warm water. Afterwards dip it into a bath of two drams saffron to one quart 
of strong alcohol, until the desired tint is acquired. This is for cotton goods. 

To Color Oreen. — To four pounds of fabric take one and one-half ounces 
oxalic acid, two ounces of Prussian blue ; let each soak overnight in one quart 
of rain water, then put together in as much warm rain water as you want to 
color with. Put in the fabric and let it be in twenty minutes. Wring out and 
dip in the following yellow dye : 

Take six ounces of sugar of lead, four and a half ounces of bichromate of 
potash ; dissolve in a pint of hot rain water. Take as much hot rain water as 
you want to color with. Dip first in the lead, then in the potash several times. 
Rinse in cold rain water. Use tin or copper — no simmering is needed. The 
first makes a blue, the last a beautiful yellow, and both a durable green. 

Another Formula. — Take two pails and put six quarts of cold or luke- 
warm water in each ; into one of them put three ounces of sugar of lead, into 
the other six ounces bichromate of potash, and let it thoroughly dissolve ; then 



DYES AND DYEING. ■ 59/ 

take five pounds of white fabric and dip into the lead water first, then in the 
other, then back and forth till the color suits. It will make a beautiful yellow. 
Then make a strong bluing water with two or three bottles of liquid bluing and 
dip in it, and you will have a very pretty green. If you prefer, you can dissolve 
four ounces of Prussian blue in a gallon of soft water. Immerse the yellow 
goods thoroughly and rub them until colored to suit the taste. 

Aniline Oreen for Stra^v. — Straw, in a manufactured condition, im- 
mortelles, grasses, etc., may be very easily colored with aniline green, as follows : 
Place the articles ik boiling water for ten to fifteen minutes, and allow the whole 
to cool ; in the meantime, mix together ten quarts of water and 450 grains chlo- 
ride of lime, and add 450 grains of cry^stallized carbonate of soda, and then 
immerse the straw half an hour in the clear liquid obtained by allowing it to 
settle. 

Move about the articles thus bleached, in a bath of 450 grains of hydro- 
chloric acid in ten quarts of water for from five to ten minutes, and color the well 
rinsed straw by agitating it in a bath of a clear solution of aniline green, of 
about 100 degrees, in a wooden vessel. For the preparation of aniline crystals 
see " Anihne Blue," page 594. 

To Color Woolen Briglit Red. — For five pounds of cloth take seven 
and a half ounces ground cochineal, ten ounces cream of tartar, and one large 
wine glass of muriate of tin ; place the cochineal in three gallons of boiling rain 
water. After boiling five minutes, add the other ingredients ; then throw the 
goods in and handle them for three quarters of an hour, to give them an even 
color. Wash in clean water and dry. 

To Color Cotton Red. — If the cotton be first passed through a weak 
solution of acetate of alumina and then dried at a high temperature, afterward 
washed, next treated with a hot decoction of madder and again washed, it will 
be found to have received a fine red, which is fixed so as to resist the action ot 
air, light and water. 

To Color Fabrics Madtler Red. — To every eight pounds of woolen 
yam or cloth take four pounds of madder, half a pound of alum, half a pound 
of cream tartar. Soak the madder in warm water overnight. Dissolve the 
alum and cream tartar in soft water, boil five minutes and skim it. Wet the 
articles to be colored in strong soap suds, and boil three hours in the alum and 
tartar water ; wring out and air them. 

Now put the articles in the madder ; have it warm over a slow fire, keep stir- 
ring for three hours ; during that time wring and air them two or three times' 
and note the time required for airing, as they must be m the dye three full 
hours or the color will fade ; wash thoroughly in soap suds, then wring out the 
articles. 

While airing and dr}ing they should not be allowed to freeze. To save the 
madder after wringing out to air, shake the articles over a tub and return the 



598 DYES AND DYEING. 

chips to the dye. After coloring the above, the madder will color old cloth very 
well. Use a brass kettle for dyeing. 

Another Formula. — For two and a half pounds woolen yarn, take three- 
fourths of a pound of alum, one quart of bran and one pound of madder. Soak 
the madder overnight in strong vinegar, enough to wet it. Never use any 
but the best cider vinegar. Dissolve the alum in sufficient water to cover the 
yarn, and boil the yarn in the solution for two hours ; then take out the yarn 
and throw away the water. 

Boil the bran with two gallons of water, and strain ; add the liquor to the 
madder, put it in the kettle with soft water enough to cover the yarn, and bring 
the whole to a scalding heat ; then put in the yarn, keep hot, but do not let it 
boil nor simmer, for an hour, turning the yarn frequently. Then take out the 
yarn, and rinse immediately in cold water. The kettle used should be a bright 
brass or copper one, and the yarn, before coloring, must be perfectly clean. 

To Dye a Silk Sliawl Crimson. — Take about one tablespoonful of 
cudbear, put it into a small pan, pour boiling water upon it, stir and let it stand 
a few minutes, then put in the silk, and turn it over a short time, and when the 
color is full enough take it out ; but if it should require more violet or crimson, 
add one or two spoonfuls of purple archil to some warm water, and dry it within 
doors. To finish it, it must be pressed. 

To Dye Woolens Crimson. — For crimson, put one-fourth of a pound 
of cudbear into a gallon or two of strong soap suds. Wash the goods in clean 
soap suds, put them without wringing into the dye and keep hot in a brass ket- 
tle over the stove until the desired shade is obtained. 

Cochineal Dye. — One ounce cf cochineal, two ounces solution of tin, and 
one ounce cream tartar ; put m a clean brass kettle, with four quarts of pure 
rain water ; let it simmer till all the ingredients are dissolved ; then put in one 
pound of clean yarn ; let it simmer half an hour, stirring continually, handling it 
in the air a few minutes ; then wash it in clean soap suds. It will not fade. 

To Dye liinens and Cottons Scarlet.— The cloth is first impreg- 
nated with oil, then with galls, and lastly with alum. It is then boiled for an 
hour in a decoction of madder, which is commonly mixed with a quantity of 
blood. After the cloth is dyed it is plunged into a soda lye, in order to brighten 
the color. The red given by this process is very permanent, and when properly 
conducted it is exceedingly beautiful. 

To Dye Woolens Scarlet. — Wool may be dyed scarlet by first boiling 
it in a solution of murio-sulphate of tin, then dyeing it pale yellow with oak 
bark, and afterward crimson with cochineal, for scarlet is a compound color,, 
consisting of crimson mixed with a little yellow. 

Second Method. — For one pound of cloth or yarn, mix in warm water 
half ounce cream of tartar and one ounce pulverized cochineal ; add two ounces 
muriate of tin. Stir until it scalds, then put in the cloth or yarn. 



DYES AND DYEING. 599 

Third Metliod. — Dip the cloth in a solution of alkaline or metallic salt, 
then in a cochineal dye, and let it remain some time, and it will come out per- 
manently colored. 

Fourth method. — Half a pound of madder, half an ounce cream tartar, 
one ounce of marine acid to a pound of cloth — put all together, and bring the 
dye to scalding heat. Put in your materials and they will be colored in ten 
minutes. The dye must be only scalding hot. Rinse the goods in cold water 
as soon as they come from the dye. 

To Dye a.§ilk Shawl Scarlet. — First dissolve two ounces of white 
soap in boiling water, handle the shawl through this liquor, now and then rub- 
bing such places with the hands as may appear dirty, till it is as clean as this 
water will make it. A second, or even a third liquor may be used, if required. 
The shawl must be rinsed out in warm water. 

Then take one-half ounce of the best Spanish annotto and dissolve it in hot 
water ; pour this solution into a pan of warm water, and handle the shawl 
through this for one-quarter of an hour ; then take it out and rinse it in clean 
water. 

In the meanwhile dissolve a piece of alum of the size of a chestnut in warm 
water, and let the shawl remain m this half an hour ; take it out and rinse it in 
clear water. Then boil one-fourth of an ounce of the best cochineal for twenty 
minutes, dip it out of the copper into a pan, and let the shawl remain in this 
from twenty minutes to half an hour, which will make it a full blood red. 

Then take out the shawl, and add to the liquor in the pan one quart more of 
that out of the kettle, if there is as much remaining, and about one-half a small 
wineglassful of the solution of tin ; when cold, rinse it slightly, but m pure, soft 
water. 

To Dye Cotton Brown. — One pound of catechu and four ounces of 
blue vitriol, dissolved in four gallons of water and strained. Have the goods 
wet when put in the dye. Keep in an hour, stirring constantly ; take them out 
to air. Then dissolve four ounces of bichromate of potash in hot water enough 
to cover the goods. Dip until the color suits. This will color fifteen or twenty 
pounds of fabric. Do the coloring in brass or copper. 

To Dye Silh§ and Satins Bro'%vn. — Fill the kettle with river water ; 
when it gently boils put in a quarter of a pound of chipped fustic, two ounces 
of madder and one ounce of sumac. These should boil at least from half an 
hour to two hours, that the ingredients may be well incorporated. The kettle 
must then be cooled down by pouring in cold water ; the goods may then be 
put in, and simmered gently from half an hour to an hour. If this color should 
appear to want darkenmg or saddening, a small piece of green copperas may be 
used ; rinse in two or three waters, and hang up to dry. 

To Dye Stone Color. — For a stone color, to one pound of fabric use 
three tablespoonfuls of good green tea in sufficient soft water to immerse the 



6oo DYES AND DYEING. 

cloth and boil thoroughly ; strain and add a piece of copperas as large as a 
chestnut, then put in the goods and boil a short time. 

To ©ye §late Color. — One paper of ink powder, one quart of vinegar, 
sufificient water to wet the articles well. Done in brass. 

To I>yc Silk Lilac. — For every pound of silk take one and a half pounds 
of archil, mix it well with the liquor ; make it boil a quarter of an hour, dip the 
silk quickly, then let it cool, and wash it in river water, and a fine violet or lilac, 
more or less full, will be obtained. 

To Dye Copper Color. — If you want to color some carpet rags a 
copper color, take some last leached lye, put in four ounces of copperas for 
six quarts of lye, immerse white rags, and boil twenty minutes ; wash good 
and dry. This makes a pretty color, and it wears well. 

To Dye Rose Color. — One dram of rose aniline is dissolved in half a 
teacupful of alcohol to make the foundation for color. Put this in half a pail- 
ful of warm, soft water. Wring the goods out of warm water and put into 
the dye for five minutes, lifting the fabric frequently. Let them dry before 
washing, and use but little soap. The color is very brilliant, and it is said to 
be permanent. 

The strength of the dye is very quickly taken up, therefore it is best, when 
practicable, to put all the articles to be colored in at once ; when not practicable, 
save out some of the aniline to add before putting in the second quantity. Be- 
fore putting the cloth into the dye, be sure all the aniline is dissolved. If any 
crystals are left undissolved, they will cause bright green spots on your goods 
wherever they touch. 

To Dye Purple. — Silk is first dyed crimson by means of cochineal, and 
then dipped into the indigo vat. Cotton and linen are first dyed blue, and 
then dipped in a decoction of logwood ; but a more permanent color is given by 
means of oxide of iron. 

To Dye Orange Color. — Wool may be dyed orange by first coloring it 
scarlet and then putting it in a yellow bath. 

To Dye Silk Stockings Flesli Color. — Wash the stockings perfectly 
clean in soap and water, then rinse them in hot water, put three tablespoonfuls 
of purple archil into a wash hand basin half full of hot water ; put the stockings 
in this dye water, and when of the shade called half violet or lilac, take them 
from the dye water, and slightly rinse them in cold ; when dry hang them up 
in a close box in which sulphur is burnt ; when they are evenly bleached to the 
shade required of flesh color, take them from the sulphuring box and finish them 
by rubbing the right side with a clean flannel. Satins and silks are done the 
same way. 

To Dye Olive Color. — By combining red, yellow and blue, olive color 
is produced. Cotton and linen receive an olive color by being passed through 
a blue, yellow and then madder bath. 



DYES AND DYEING. 6oi 

To JBrig'liteii Colors, — Soda in the rinsing water will clear up and in- 
tensify almost any blue and purple. Vinegar will do the same for pink or 
^reen calicoes. It is said that a strong decoction of common hay will preserve 
the color of French linens and lawns. 

To Set the Color of Cotton I>re§§es. — Take a large, double handful 
of bran, put it in a saucepan and set it over the fire, allowing it to boil thor- 
oughly in a quart of water ; when thoroughly boiled, strain the bran and throw 
the water into that in which you are about washing your lawn or chintz dress. 
Let the dress soak for an hour or so in it before washing. Instead of starch, 
use a weak solution of glue water, and iron on the wrong side. 

To Dye Fur§. — Take lye that will bear up an egg. To one gallon of lye 
add two quarts soft water ; heat in an iron kettle. Take one ounce of acetate 
of lead, one ounce of sulphate of iron, seven ounces litharge ; pulverize the in- 
gredients and dissolve one at a time in the lye. When the fluid is blood warm, 
put in the furs a few moments only, then air them and dip into strong vinegar, 
then slick them off and hang up to dry. Hides should always be well handled. 
The dye can be made stronger by adding more of the ingredients, and brushing 
on if not dark enough. 

Variegated Cotton Thread or Yarn. — Cotton thread or yarn may 
be dyed in two or three colors by covering some parts with parchment paper, 
tightly wound, and thin tin or lead foil, holding the latter in place by binding 
threads. If tied sufficiently tight when the skeins are introduced into the dye 
Lath, the protected parts remain white ; and by protecting the dyed portion, 
and unwrapping the white portion, another color may be applied. 

Preserving- the Color of Dresses. — The colors of merinos, mousse- 
laine delaines, chintzes, printed lawns, etc., may be preserved by using water that 
is only milk warm ; make a lather of white soap before you put in the dress 
instead of rubbing it on the material, and stirring into a first and second tub of 
water a large tablespoonful of ox gall. The gall can be obtained from the 
butcher, and a bottle of it should always be kept in every house. 

No colored articles should be allowed to remain long in the water. They 
must be washed fast and then rinsed through two cold waters unless woolen, 
then in warm water. Into each rinsing water stir a teaspoonful of vinegar, 
which will help to brighten the colors ; and after rinsing hang them out imme- 
diately. 

Indigo for all Fabrics. — Indigo has a very strong affinity for wool, 
silk, cotton and linen. Every kind of cloth, therefore, may be dyed with it 
without the assistance of any substance to set with whatever. The color thus 
induced is very permanent. 

Setting Colors. — Some mordants modify the color ; thus alum brightens 
madder, giving a light red, while sulphate of iron darkens it, giving a purple. 
It will be well to observe these facts when coloring. 



6o2 MANUFACTURING STARCH. 

MANUFACTURING STARCH. 



To MaRe Potato Starch. — Housewives usually much prefer to pur- 
chase starch than to make it ; but sometimes circumstances are such that it 
would be convenient to understand the methods of obtaining this material from 
vegetables and grain. It may be made from both potatoes and wheat. To 
make it from the former, wash the potatoes very clean, grate fine, wash as much 
as possible, and strain the whole through fine muslin, using plenty of water. 

Let the starch settle to the bottom of the vessel until the water becomes clear 
and free from a white cloudiness ; then pour off the water carefully, and you 
will find the starch in a hard mass at the bottom of the vessel ; there will most 
likely be a little slime and impurity on the surface of the starch ; this must be 
carefully removed and the surface of the starch rendered clean. 

When the starch is well cleaned, stir it up again in pure fresh water, and let 
it settle again. When the w^ater is clear, pour it off, and your starch will be as 
pure as driven snow ; if it should not be, wash it up again. 

When quite bright and clean, take the starch out, make it up into small par- 
cels with the hands, or pour it into cotton bags containing about a pint and 
slightly tapering, until the water has all drained out of it ; then turn it out of 
the molds, cut it into pieces about three inches square, and set them on new,, 
clean, dry bricks ; the bricks will absorb all the remaining water. 

Let them remain on the bricks until the starch loses all appearance of wet- 
ness ; then place it in the sun, where there is a good current of dry air, and it 
will fall into crystals, more or less perfect, and will then keep any reasonable 
length of time for use. 

To Make Wheat Starch. — This is made as follows : Take a quantity 
of the best wheat, soak it in water until soft, then crush it on a smooth board 
until all the grains have burst. Do this little by little ; the wheat must be quite 
soft, so as to yield its substance when pressed ; it will be quite sour and offen- 
sive, and yet it is not at all unwholesome. 

When all is crushed, let it remain mixed with water in a thick state, like 
cream, until it is quite sour. Then wash it in small portions at a time, in a very 
fine sieve ; the starch will all go through with the water, and the bran may be 
thrown away. When all is done, give it a good stir up in the vessel, and then 
let it rest ; the starch will all go to the bottom in hard cake. 

When this has taken place, which will be in about twelve hours, draw off the 
water through holes in the sides of the vessel, taking care not to disturb the con- 
tents, and also taking care not to go below the clear ; when the water is all 
off, you will find all the gluten and irhpurities of the wheat in a thick coating on 
the starch. 

This substance is removed from the surface of the starch, and the surface 



SOAPS AND SOAP MAKING. 605 

washed off; the starch is then roused or mixed up with fresh water, and allowed 
to settle and again cleaned off. 

When bright and clean and sweet, the starch must be taken out and placed in 
cotton bags, as in making potato starch ; the water then runs off, leaving the 
starch so hard that it will turn out of the mold, and the cloth being removed 
the starch may be cut into cakes, and dried in the sun ; it will fall into crystals, 
and is then fit to be put away for use. If the starch does not come pure and 
nice, it may be known that the muslin sieve was not fine enough. 

Another Formula. — Another way to make wheat starch is to have the 
wheat ground, but not bolted. Put it to soak in plenty of water and let it fer- 
ment ; then put in thin bags and squeeze them until all of the milky substance 
is forced out and nothing but the bran left. If you choose, the bran may be 
soaked and pressed again. Strain the white fluid through heavy cloth like a 
blanket ; let the starch settle and pour off the water carefully. Add more 
water, stir up, and allow to settle again. Repeat the pouring off, and continue 
these operations until the starch is white and solid. Cut into cakes and dry on 
plates in the sun. 



SOAPS AND SOAP MAKING. 



To Make Soft Soap. — The failures in making good, soft soap majr 
generally be attributed to either poor ashes, or lack of getting right pro- 
portions of lye and grease. Soft soap sometimes appears to be good when put 
up, but changes entirely after standing a few days. The last trouble usually^ 
arises from getting the soap too strong and diluting with water. If very strong,^ 
it will be thin and dark, and by adding cold water and thoroughly stirring, the 
color is changed many shades lighter and the mass thickened, giving it the ap- 
pearance of a number one article, when in reality it is very poor. 

The A§h Leaeh. — Hickory ashes are the best for soap making, but those 
from sound beech, maple, or almost any kind of hard wood, save oak, will 
answer well. A common barrel set upon an inclined . platform makes a very 
good leach, but I must prefer one made of boards set in a trough in V shape^ 
for the strength of the ashes is better obtained, and it may be taken to pieces 
when not in use and laid up. 

First, in the bottom of the leach put a few sticks ; over these spread a piece 
of carpet or woolen cloth, which is much better than straw ; put on a few inches 
of ashes, and from four to eight quarts of lime, according to size of leach. 
Moisten and tamp down well, the firmest in the center. By moistening you 
will not have to wait half a day for the lye to start. 



6o4 SOAPS AND SOAP MAKING. 

It is difficult to obtain the full strength of ashes in a barrel without removing 
them after a day's leaching and mixing them up and replacing. The top should 
be first thrown off, and new ashes added to make up the proper quantity. Use 
boiling water for second leaching. 

Boiling' for §oap. — Take about four gallons of weak lye and boil up 
thoroughly with twelve pounds of clear grease ; put in a piece of alum the size 
of a chestnut, then add the strong lye as it is obtained, keeping a slow fire and 
stirring often, until you have a barrel of soap. After bDiling the grease and 
four gallons of lye together, it may be put in a barrel and the lye added there, 
which will form good soap if frequently stirred : but the heating process is 
better when weather and time will permit the work to be done. 

Soft Soap iivitli Potash. — Heat soap grease up in weak lye, but do not 
boil. After grease is well eaten, fill kettle with water, let it stand until the grease 
rises in a crust at the top ; use this for the soap by adding to each ten pounds 
of grease six pounds of potash. These quantities will make half a barrel of 
soap. Dissolve the potash and strain the lye into the place where the soap is 
to be kept. Melt the grease and add it, stirring briskly. Water, of course, is 
used to make the quantity half a barrel. Stir several times a day until good 
soap is formed. 

Another Method. — To thirteen pounds of potash use twenty pounds of 
grease and three-fourths of a pound of resin. This quantity will make a barrel 
of soap. Keep the grease tried out and strained so as to be ready for use when 
the requisite quantity is gained. Select the gray looking potash, put it into the 
soap barrel, pour on it hot soft water to facilitate dissolving ; when softened put 
in the grease, reserving two or three pounds to melt the resin in ; keep adding 
hot water till it stirs readily, and when nearly to the top put in the melted resin 
and fat. 

This soap is said to be good and strong, and that it will keep any length of 
time and be free from insects. If too strong add a third of soft water to it. 
Avoid dark potash, as it is apt to stain the clothes in washing. 

Cheap Hard Soap. — Into a kettle put eight gallons of water, two pounds 
of clean unslaked lime, and six pounds of soda ash ; when it is boiling hot 
strain it and return it to the kettle, then add twelve pounds of clean grease. 
Let it boil slowly three hours, then put out the fire and let it get entirely cold. 
Remove the hard cake that will form without touching the hands to it. Put 
this in a clean kettle, add one pound of borax, pounded fine, and let it melt, 
stirring it well together, and when hot pour it into molds that have been pre- 
viously well soaked in water. Set them in an airy place, not in the sunshine for 
the first day or two, as it would cure them out of shape ; afterward dry perfectly, 
and then pack away in a dry place. The liquid remaining in the kettle is strong 
enough to make another lot by adding four pounds of grease, but the soap pro- 
duced is not quite equal to the first. 



SOAPS AND SOAP MAKING. ^ 605^ 

Second Formula. — To make common hard soap, put into an iron kettle 
five pounds unslaked lime, five pounds sal soda, and three gallons of soft water ; 
let it soak overnight ; in the morning pour off the water, then add three and a 
half pounds of grease, boil till thick, turn into a pan until cool, and cut in bars. 

Third Formula — Take six pounds of sal soda, six pounds grease and 
three pounds quick lime. Thoroughly mix the soda and lime in four gallons of 
water, pour off from the sediment, put in the grease and boil twenty minutes , 
pour off, and before entirely cold cut in bars. 

F«>urtli Formula. — Five pails soft soap, two pounds salt and one pound 
resin. Simmer together, and when thoroughly fused, turn out in shallow pans, 
so as to be easily cut. 

Labor Saving' Soap. — Dissolve a quarter of a pound of lime in a gallon- 
of cold water, then take off the clear , dissolve half a pound of sal soda in a 
quart of water, and mix it with the clear lime water. One pound of brown 
soap dissolved in a gallon of water is then to be added to the clear liquor 
formed with sal soda and lime water, and this forms the soap. This is excel- 
lent for boiling white linen ; it removes all grease that is in it, because it con- 
tains an excess of caustic lye. 

Concentrated I^ye Soap.— Put one pound of concentrated lye mto one 
gallon of boiling water, let it stand ten or twelve hours, then add another gallon 
of water and heat up to a boil, and add four pounds of clear melted grease , put 
in the grease slowly, and stir briskly. Let it boil slowly for about half a day,, 
then add four quarts of hot water in which has been dissolved two tablespoon- 
fuls of borax, four of resin and one teacupful of salt. Cook an hour longer, and 
it will probably be ready to set off. 

It is best to test it first, however, which may be done by dipping a stick into 
it ; if the substance drops off clear and hardens quickly, it is made. Pour the 
mass into some vessel large enough to have the soap cover the bottom about 
the thickness you would like the bars. The vessel should be wet when the 
soap is put in. When cool, cut into cakes the size you choose. This soap is 
very white and nice. 

White Hard Soap. — Seven pounds of soda, three of lime, four gallons 
of water ; boil together till dissolved. Let this stand to settle ; then pour off as 
long as any remains clear, and add water to make four gallons. Boil this, add- 
ing four pounds of grease and two tablespoonfuls of borax ; boil till thick. 
Take up and put away to cool. When it is cold, cut the pieces rather larger 
than the size you want them, as it shrinks in drying. 

Transparent Soap, — Shave in thin slices one pound of brown bar soap, 
and put it in a junk bottle with half a pint of alcohol. Without corking the 
bottle, place it in a basin containing water, put the basin on the stove and boil 
ten minutes ; then remove the bottle from the water, and turn out the liquid 
to cool. Before cold, add a few drops of oil of bergamot or lemon to perfume.. 



6o6 SOAPS AND SOAP MAKING. 

Erasive ^oap. — Place on a hot stove one quart of soft water, in this put 
one pound of bar soap finely cut up, one ounce borax, one-half ounce saltpeter, 
one-fourth ounce of aqua ammonia, and boil until thoroughly mixed. This is 
one of the best materials for erasing grease, etc., or doing common washings, 
in use. 

^liaviiig' i^oap. — Use one-half pint of soft water instead of a quart, and 
the other materials in quantity as in erasive soap. Cut into cakes of size to suit, 
when nearly cold. 

Toilet Soap. — Sal soda six pounds, unslaked lime three pounds, soft water 
four gallons, grease seven pounds. Put the water, lime and sal soda into a ket- 
tle and boil until dissolved ; then let it stand until it settles ; pour out the liquid, 
throwing away the dregs ; add the grease to the liquid and boil until the con- 
sistency of honey ; perfume as you please, color with vermilion. 

Gelatine l^oap. — Take two pounds of white olive soap and shave it into thin 
slices ; add two ounces of borax and two quarts of cold water ; stir all together 
in a stone or earthen jar, and let it set upon the back part of the stove until the 
mass is dissolved. A very little heat is required, as the liquid need not simmer. 
When thoroughly mixed and cooled, it becomes the consistency of a thick jelly, 
and a piece the size of a cubic inch will make a lather for a gallon of water. 

Olycerine Soap. — A very nice article is made by using one pound of bar 
soap containing olive oil, one pound of glycerine, one pint of alcohol and one 
pint of water. Shave the soap fine ; put the alcohol and water in a kettle over 
the fire ; add the soap, and when dissolved and a greater part of the alcohol has 
been evaporated, add the glycerine. Continue stirring for two or three minutes, 
and add any perfume you like. 

Honey Soap. — Take one and a half pounds of white soap, half a pound of 
Windsor soap, cut up fine and dissolve, then add one-fourth pound of honey, 
and keep it hot until the water is evaporated. Perfume with any favorite oil 
Avhile the soap is hot ; cut into small cakes when nearly cold. 

To Refine Soap. — Make a kettle of brine — one pint of common salt to 
two gallons of water. In five gallons of this brine boil fifteen pounds of soap 
for two hours. When cold cut in bars, scrape the sediment from the bottom of 
bars, lay them on the shelf to drain well ; expose to the sun for a good while. 

1to§e Soap. — A very nice article of rose soap may be made by mixing two 
pounds white soap, three pounds of olive oil soap, and one-half pound of rose 
water. Cut the soap into thin slices, put into a kettle that sits in another ket- 
tle of boiling water. Keep the heat below boiling point until the ingredients 
are thoroughly mixed, and then add one ounce of finely sifted vermilion, and 
stir until thoroughly incorporated. If a light rose color is desired, put in less of 
the pigment. After being thoroughly mixed and heated, take from the fire 
and add one-half ounce of otto of roses, and about half that quantity of 
bergamot. 
\ 



USEFUL AND ORNAMENTAL ARTICLES. 6oj 

USEFUL AND ORNAMENTAL ARTICLES. 



The Fernery. — No house plants have afforded my family so much real 
pleasure as those of the Wardian case. My case is of circular form, with terra 

cotta base, such as may be purchased at any first .-rM™n!iiB»^ 

class crockery store, and in it are growing tropical JlilSiM^lp^ 

ferns, lycopodium, begonias, etc. The begonia is of JliliSi!S 

the striped leaf variety — I prefer this to the flowering ililllilPll^^ 

kind, as I have had better luck in growing it. liifi^Rilll 

In managing a case do not attempt to lift off the i lKII K"lmijlil 

glass after the plants have got to growing well, and 1^11!^^'''™! 

to fill the space, for more damage is done the ferns by |M&|ttiii^| 

handling than there is benefit to be derived. j^^^^^ ^^P 

Water only as often as the earth gets dryish, not l ^^ ^^K ^^^ ^mk 

oftener than once in a week, and then apply only ^^^^p iT u 

enough to make the soil moist. To determine when »L B| II M 

the plants need water, always examine the dirt of the 1\ | \ MMi 

case by lifting the glass a little. The indications of B ll \ imn 

moisture by condensation on the inside of ihe glass 1 1\ \ sila 

are deceptive. \l^,\M M 

Home-made Fern Case. — A case that will I^^^^^HI 

answer very well may be made of a little seven by I^^^^^Plli 

nine or eight by ten box, four inches deep. Into this f | #J\ \i w 

box set four lights of glass, long way up. The box i l// \ ^ a 

should be just large enough to fit the glass. The a J\i \ l^u 

dirt well crowded in will hold the glass in place, or «g^^^ f]^IjO |^^ 

they may be cemented. A light a trifle larger on the M^^^^Z-^S^^F^^ 

top completes the box. If it is not air tight, no par- ^^^^ ^^ ^k ^ 

ticular difference will be seen, save evaporation will l^^ 

r , 1 . . . • 1 • 1 CASE FOR FERNS, ETC. 

go on faster, and more attention be required. 

For the bottom it would be an improvement to have a zinc square pan made 
to just fit it after the glass is in place. Cover the bottom of the tray with a layer 
of charcoal, then two inches of leaf mold, then plant several varieties of the 
best mosses, with maiden hair and other ferns, ground pine, wild lycopodium, 
rattlesnake plantain and partridge vine, if wild plants are desired. This last is 
very desirable for the fern case ; the foliage will retain its beauty so long, and 
its delicate flowers are very pretty. The plants can be arranged with pebbles 
and mosses interspersed, to add to their rustic beauty. 

^ovel Vase. — Cover the entire outside of a vase or goblet with brown 
paper. mushn, sewed on or fastened with paste or mucilage. Then cover the 
mushn with spruce wood twigs, moss and lichens, glued on as taste may dictate. 



6o8 USEFUL AND ORNAMENTAL ARTICLES. 

These vases, when filled with flowers, have a beautiful effect, especially in country 
houses. 

To Hake a Scrap Bag*. — Take three pieces of Japanese canvas, each 
twelve inches long and two inches wide, and embroider them. Then have three 
pieces of silk, the same shade as the embroidery silk, each four inches wide and 
twelve long. Puff the silk so it will be the same length as the canvas, turning 
under half an inch on the sides as a finish for the edges. 

Sew the pieces together and finish the bottom with cord and tassels ; have 
tassels at the top where the cord is fastened to the bag. Sew a wire in the top 
and bottom, and one in the middle, to keep the bag open. Line it with white 
paper cambric. 

Ilome-made Wardrobe. — Housekeepers who are crowded for closet 
room can make very neat and pretty wardrobes in their bedrooms. First have 
three boards, a foot wide, put up, one on top four feet long, and the uprights six 
feet. Varnish these with shellac. Make a curtain of muslin or chintz — or a 
double curtain is prettiest — and suspend it from the top by means of a thick 
cord. Run the cord through the top hem of the curtains and then secure the 
ends to the boards. This permits the curtains to be drawn aside with ease. 

Umbrella Stand. — A tall, slim terra cotta jar may be turned into an um- 
brella stand, and made to look very artistic. One can be purchased for from 
seventy-five cents to one dollar. On it paint in water colors a bird and a few 
cat tails, a number of butterflies or a similar design, and fasten a large bow of 
ribbon on one side ; either a deep crimson color or a pale blue will look best. 

To Make a Spool Case.- — Use three pieces shaped something like a 
rose leaf, that is, pointed at each end and widened in the middle, and of any size 
to suit the taste. They may be cut out in thin pasteboard, and covered and 
lined with any suitable material. Ribbon quilled around the seams adds to the 
effect. One seam is left open, and the whole is finished with a bow and a loop 
of ribbon, intended for hanging up. Designs in braiding or bead work may be 
used according to taste. 

Olass Hanging Shelves. — Take as many long, narrow lights of glass as 
you wish shelves, and drill holes through each corner. (See how to drill glass.) 
Bind each shelf with ribbon and pass ribbon from one hole to the other, at 
both ends of the shelf, so that the glass may be held in a sort of sling. Pass 
ribbons backward and forward through the holes of the next shelf, so as to go 
both under and over. The third shelf is similarly treated, the three being sepa- 
rated by such distance as you may desire. Lastly, catch the four ends of ribbon, 
two at each end, together under a rosette, and hang the whole by the rosette to 
a hook in the wall, and put bows beneath each hole in the lower shelf. Now 
arrange your shells and minerals at your leisure. 

Pretty Paper Raek. — Get two box covers of pasteboard, same size, 
about a foot square ; place the edges together as you would put a box and cover 



USEFUL AND ORNAMENTAL ARTICLES. 609 

together, only not overlapping, then drill holes with an eyelet punch, up two 
sides of the two covers exactly opposite, two inches apart, then lace up these 
sides with ribbons, so that the two cover edges will be held together at bottom 
and spread a few inches at top. The top end of the back box cover had better 
be carefully cut out. Cut at corners then turned up and made oval, and a hole 
punched in it to hang the rack by. Decorate side in front and edges, if you 
choose, with decalcomania or other pictures. A narrow border of pretty paper 
around the corners will look well, if a large picture is used on front. If two box 
covers cannot be obtained of same size, use one cover and cut down box to 
match. 

Home-made £asel. — Have three sticks cut five or six feet long, inch and 
three-quarters wide, and three-quarters of an inch thick. Have them planed 
smooth and straight. Put them together by nail- 
ing on two cleats as represented in the engraving. 
Spread the bottom twenty inches apart, and have 
top about a foot wide. In the bottom cleat put two 
wooden pins for the picture to rest upon, eight or 
nine inches each way from the center ; that is, so 
that they will be at least sixteen inches apart. 

A brace stick, same size as the others, should be 
about a foot shorter than the side rails, and fastened 
to the center bar where upper cleat crosses, by 
means of a small door hinge. Now the easel frame 
is ready to cover. If you wish for a very nice cover, *-^A\ 

use velvet or plush ; velveteen will do if the others ^ // *-' \\ 

cannot be afforded. Cut strips so that they will just ^ -^U 

go around the square bars and the edges come to- home-made easel. 

gether. Use glue or mucilage to fasten. Common pins or gimp tacks should 
be used to hold the velvet in place until the glue sets. An easel can be made in 
this way, richer in appearance, for three or four dollars, than can be purchased 
at a furniture store for twenty. Wine, blue and old gold are the best colors for 
the covering. 

Handy What-not. — A very convenient what-not may be made at home 
by use of a few strips of narrow, thin boards and common spools. Have four 
or five pieces of clapboarding planed out four inches wide and eighteen or 
twenty inches long, and a quarter inch hole bored two inches from each corner. 
Stain the boards any color you choose (see page 206), and put them together 
with cords and spools. 

The four cords should be long and stout, and crimson, green or blue in color. 
Put the cords through from underside of bottom shelf, with knots on lower ends. 
String two spools upon each cord, then put on another shelf, and so on until 
finished. The spools that go together should be of same size in diameter, and 




6io USEFUL AND ORNAMENTAL ARTICLES. 

all of the spools of same length, that is, all that go together between any two 
shelves. The spools should be white to start with, and stained same as the 
shelving. The what-not is to be hung by the union of the cords at suitable 
distance above the upper board. 

Kitchen Boot Rack.— To have a neat kitchen, there should be a boot 
rack placed behind the stove, in which the damp boots of farmer boys may be 
placed to dry. Such a contrivance will be found a great convenience. Have 
three shelves about four feet long, ten inches wide, and placed a foot apart. At 
one end a boot-jack may be fixed by hinges, so that when not in use it can be 
folded against one end of the rack and secured by a button. 

Have also a stand for cleaning boots at the front, which also can fold up when 
not in use, and the blacking brushes placed on the shelves behind the stand, out 
of sight. The two feet of the stand can also be hinged, and when it is folded, 
hang down out of the way. The rack should be made of dressed pine boards, 
and painted or stained some dark, durable color. See page 206. 

Plush Covered Banjo.— Cheap banjos for decorative purposes can be 
had where artists' materials are kept, and very commonly the banjo head is 
painted with bright flowers, large bows of satin ribbon are added, and it is hung 

upon the wall. 

A pleasing substitute for painting is a covering of plush. Embroider a piece 
with thistles, golden rod, or any design liked. Loosen the screws round the 
head of the banjo, remove the metal rim, and after laying the plush smoothly 
over, readjust the rim. Decorate the end of the handle with a bow of ribbon, 
pass' the ribbon on down and end with a bow on the side of the banjo head. 
Garnet or blue are effective colors. 

Covering Frames with Velvet.— Old gilt frames that are tarnished or 
damaged can be covered to great advantage, also mirrors with plain wooden 
flat frames, by puffing velvet or felt over them. Another way is colored mus- 
lins with dotted Swiss puffed over, and finished with colored ribbon bows. 

China tiles look well set in flat, square, velvet covered wooden mounts, from 
two to four inch margins, according to taste. The wood is not difficult to 
cover, and is done by stretching the velvet well over, turning in the edges neatly 
with tacks, and then gluing with strong glue, removing the tacks when dry. 

Wall Catch Box.— A handy box upon the wall into which may be tossed 
gloves, cuffs, etc., can be made of two pieces of cardboard, size to suit. Cover 
the boards neatly on both sides with some fancy paper or pictures ; jom the 
sides intended for the bottom together with knots of ribbon ; let the upper part 
of the front one fall forward a few inches, and suspend it in that way by attach- 
ing a ribbon from that to the back. Hang it by a cord or ribbon sewed to each 
end of the back. These can be made very ornamental. 

Another Design.— Jenny June tells us how to make up an old, ctraw, 
wide brimmed hat. Buy at the druggist's or fancy dealer's a bottle of liquid 



USEFUL AND ORNAMENTAL ARTICLES. 6ll 

gilt, and put it all over the outside of the hat with a camel's hair brush. Let 
it dry thoroughly, and line the brim with satin, and in place of a crown lining 
make the satin to form a bag and draw with a drawing cord and tassels. Turn 
the hat up on one side and put on a large bunch of dried grasses and ribbons, 
also a few wild flowers. 

Children's little wooden pails with fancy pictures on, or painted in water col- 
ors, and finished at the top, with satin frilled on to form a bag, are very pretty 
and inexpensive. 

Quiltiiig' Frames. — Make the frames in the usual manner with holes bored 
at proper distances for rolling. Then make four posts of scantling the height 
you wish, on the top of which put an iron pin just to fit the holes in the frames. 
The pin should be just long enough to put on both pieces of the frame, with a 
small hole in the top for a pin to hold in place. If the frames are of the 
proper size and the quilt made to fit them, you can quilt as easily and nicely 
"around the corner" as anywhere else. 

Cap Baskets. — The Ladies' Manual says that a basket of this description 
is very useful for elderly ladies who dwell in the country and carry their caps 
when dining out, and it is also useful for carrying about fancy work, etc. A 
round is formed of silver paper ; it is lined, and at each side there is a crimson silk 
or satin bag, drawn with a silk cord. If preferred, cardboard covered with 
Java canvas and worked in cross stitch, can be substituted for the silver paper. 

Embroiflerecl Cliair Cover. — " Embroidered slips are much used now 
instead of chintz covers for chairs. They can be made of thin woolen material, 
or of linen. When of wool they are embroidered with crewels. 

"The better way to have the covers fit nicely, is to lay the material on the 
chair, pin it in places to hold it firmly, and lay the plaits and seams just where 
they should be, and cut the material then. There are no two chairs exactly 
alike in shape, and it will be found far more easy to fit them in this way. The 
seams and edges are bound with braid, and the corners are laced down with 
cords. The caps for the arms are fastened with buttons and corresponding 
button holes." 

ClotlieiS Raek and Screen. — A boy can make a clothes rack by follow- 
ing the directions hereafter given, and the housewife can put it to a double pur- 
pose. Dress out six pieces of light wood, one inch square and five feet long, 
then cut out twelve other pieces of light wood, half an inch square and two 
and a half feet long. Chamfer the corners of small rods, and the material is 
ready. 

Lay down the inch square sticks, side by side, and mark across them with 
a pencil four lines, one, one inch from the top, another fourteen inches below 
that, the third fourteen inches lower, and the fourth the same distance below 
that. That will leave seventeen inches at lower end. With a three-eighth bit 
bore holes at these marks nearly through the sticks. 



6l2 



USEFUL AND ORNAMENTAL ARTICLES. 



Fit the ends of the small sticks, being sure they are of equal length, and put 
together as illustrated ; fasten with glue or brads and hinge together. Small 
chair casters can be put on if desired. 




HOME-MADE CLOTHES RACK, OR SCREEN FRAME. 



To convert the clothes horse mto a screen, cover with coarse muslin nailed 
tightly down each side, and a strip of red plush or velvet turned over the wooden 
edges, and tacked round to form the binding. To form the panels, use satin, 
and embroider in colors a design of one or two long stalked, ox eyed daisies, 
with a few leaves and blades of grass, and several rich hued butterflies. 

This design would be more effective if embroidered on pale blue. Another 
pretty way of decorating is to press flowers and grasses, tie them in bunches as 
desired, and fasten on the panels ; then back of the spray paint shadows of 
flowers and leaves, and long, bending grasses. 

Cliecker-board Screen, — A pretty simple screen is made of a small 
•clothes horse covered with black velveteen and orange satin, cut in strips two 
inches wide, and woven in checker-board fashion, the ends of the strips sewed 
or tacked to the rods of the frame. Felt cut into strips, with the edges pinked 
and similarly arranged, like basket work, makes a pretty, cheap and serviceable 
screen for a room in constant use. Tack on strips one way first, close together, 
then weave in, over and under, in an opposite direction, fastening as you go. 
It is better to cut strips length of frame before tying. 

The bottom of the panel will be improved by a row of balls or tassels, or if 



KITCHEN AND TABLE WARE. . 613 

the felt is used, a four inch strip of it can be cut into strands to make a very 
suitable fringe. To make a screen in this manner with both sides alike, each 
piece should be long enough to meet and sew together. The seam can be 
slipped under one of the interlacing pieces. 

Pretty Greenery. — Procure a one or two gallon crock that is porous — 
the pinkish red that are not glazed are best. Soak this until it is well saturated 
with water, then cover the surface while it is wet with timothy seed ; fill with 
water and set in a dark place for a few days. The seed will adhere to the crock 
and grow. It will soon become a novel looking object and quite attractive. 
Glazed crocks covered with cloth and kept wet will become a greenery also. 

I^toeking^ Apron, — An apron made after the style of hospital aprons, 
with two or three deep pockets extending from the hem half way up the length 
of the apron, is handy. In these pockets yarns of various colors and qualities 
have place, and there is room for perforated hose to bide its time of repair. 
There are darning needles in it, and old stockings for making new feet and 
heels. 

When repairing is to be done, the apron may be put on, and all the material 
required is at hand. A pretty one is made of a damask tow^el with wide bor- 
ders at each end. Cut the border off one end, and put it on above the border 
at the other end. Sew at sides and bottom, then divide into pockets. Another 
improvement can be made by putting both fringes at lower end, so making it 
heavier. 



KITCHEN AND TABLE WARE. 



Fastening on Knife Handles. — Set the handle upon end, fill the cav- 
ity with pulverized resin, then warm the small parts of the knife or fork and in- 
sert it slowly, crowd it down firmly and hold it in right position until the resin 
cools enough to set. As resin is not soluble in water, the knives are not loos- 
ened. Glue or any other cementing material soluble in water is not available. 
Glue may be made to resist water, however, by putting two ounces of it in a 
pint of skimmed milk, and evaporating the mixture to the proper consistency 
for use. 

The following is a cement I prefer to resin, but is not so cheap and handy: 
One-fourth pound of colophony — which may be found at almost any drug store 
— two ounces of sulphur melted together ; mold into bars, and when wanted to 
use, powder sufficient quantity for use and mix with half part of iron filings or 
fine brick dust, then use same as the resin. This makes a very fine and lasting 
cement. See page 198. 

Diseolored Ivory Knife Handles. — Where ivory handles have be- 
come yellow, they may be restored by soaking a few hours in a watery solution 



6l4 KITCHEN AND TABLE WARE. 

of sulphurous acid. The acid in a gaseous state should not be used, as it will 
be likely to make the handles crack. 

CIiaTC©al for Tatole Ii.iiwe§. — Powdered charcoal is a good thing to 
use in scouring knives and forks, as it will not wear them out near so fast as brick 
dust, which is most commonly used. A small, fine grained grindstone would 
be a good thing to have in the kitchen ; it would whirl the grime off the knives 
in double quick, but the forks would have to be scoured by the usual process. 

To Clean Rusty Table Miiives. — Where the knives have got rusty 
by neglect, rub the blades over thoroughly with sweet oil ; allow this to remain 
as long as possible, a day or so at least, then rub the steel with finely powdered, 
unslaked lime or pumice stone. To keep them from rusting when not in daily 
use, dry them thoroughly and roll up in a flannel cloth and keep it in a dry 
place. 

To Cleanse Silver. — Clean silver with hot water, followed by a solution 
of equal parts of spirits of ammonia and spirits of turpentine ; and after this, if 
necessary, prepared chalk, whiting, magnesia or rouge. 

Another Method, — It is claimed that water in which potatoes have been 
boiled exercises a remarkable cleaning influence upon silverware of all kinds, 
especially spoons that have become blackened by eggs. Even delicately chased 
and engraved articles can, it is said, be made bright by this method, even bet- 
ter than by the use of the ordinary pohshing powder, which is apt to settle in 
the depressions, requiring particular care in its removal. 

The proprietor in one of the oldest silver establishments in Philadelphia says 
that " housekeepers ruin their silver by washing it in soap suds, as it makes it 
look like pewter. 

To Clean Silver Plate. — In the first place, every particle of grease must 
be removed by means of hot water, in which is dissolved a small bit of cooking 
soda ; it must then be thoroughly rinsed in clear, warm water and wiped with a 
dry, soft towel, or a piece of wash leather. 

It may then be rubbed with fine whiting with a bit of flannel or chamois 
skin ; if there are stains on the plate, the whiting should be rubbed on, mixed 
with water or a little sweet oil, and allowed to remain several hours ; but if the 
silver is merely tarnished, it will be sufficient to give it a dry polish by using the 
whiting of very fine plate powder, dry, and polishing by a soft wash leather, 
cleansing the chased portions with a soft bristle brush. 

All plate and silver in common use should be cleaned at least once a week, 
but too severe rubbing will soon wear out even the celebrated Sheffield plate. 
Plate should be well protected in a dry closet or drawer ; a box lined with flan- 
nel is the best receptacle. 

The practice of leaving silver exposed on the sideboard is injurious to the 
plate, from the fact that there exists in the air a portion of sulphuretted hy- 
drogen gas, which turns the silver black. The habit of melting off spermaceti 



KITCHEN AND TABLE WARE. 61$ 

from candle sticks, by placing them near the fire, is destructive , if moderately- 
hot water and soda will not remove the grease, a little alcohol will. 

Cleaning- Solid. Silver. — Silver is most susceptible of spotting and dis- 
coloration by sea air, the human perspiration, the presence of sulphuretted hy- 
drogen (as seen in an egg spoon left uncleaned), and by the contact of mice ; 
the latter cause has irretrievably injured some new plated ware, never used, but 
left on a sideboard accessible to these little vermin. 

It is the practice of the East Indian jewelers never to touch silver and gold 
with any abrasive substance. The most delicate filagree work and wire con- 
structions of silver are rendered snowy white by their simple manipulation. 
They cut some juicy lemon in slices ; with these rub any large silver or plated 
article briskly, and leave it hidden by the slices in a pan for a few hours. 

For delicate jewelry they cut a large lime or lemon nearly in half and insert 
the ornament ; they then close up the halves tightly and put it away for a few 
hours. The articles are then to be removed, rinsed in two or three waters, and 
consigned to a saucepan of nearly boiling soap suds ; well stirred about, taken 
out, again brushed, rinsed and finally dried on a metal plate over hot water, 
finishing the process by a little rub of wash leather (if smooth work). 

Handy Scouring Box. — A very simple and handy scouring box may 
be made by simply fastening with screws or nails a small box to a piece of board, 
as represented in the illustration. The box should have a catch upon it of some 




CHEAP HOME-MADE SCOURING BOX. 



kind, a little hook and staple will do, so that the lid may be fastened down when 
done using, and the whole arrangement hung up. 

To Take Stains Out of Silver Plate.— Steep the plate in soap lyes 
for the space of four hours ; then cover it over with whiting, wet with vinegar, 
so that it may stick thick upon it, and dry it by the fire ; after which rub off the 
whiting, and pass it over with dry bran, and the spots will not only disappear, 
but the plate will look exceedingly bright. 



6l6 KITCHEN AND TABLE WARE. 

Keeping Tin Ware Bright. — It is a very good plan every weeK to 
gather up the tin ware that is in daily use, and wash it well with hot suds and 
a woolen cloth in the tub or boiler. The brightness thus given to it is nicer 
than from scouring ; besides, the ware fs not worn out, and the seams about the 
handle and spouts can be made very clean. Never use lye to clean tin, it will 
soon spoil it. Kerosene and powdered lime, whiting or wood ashes will scour 
tin with little trouble. Do not scour your tin dishes unless you have some stain 
that cannot be removed by flannel and soap. Scouring injures them by wear- 
ing away the coating and exposing the iron. 

Convenient Disli Pan. — A housewife writes : " Let me tell you how I 
have my dish pan made, and I believe others will follow my plan — they certainly 
will if they know how much more convenient it is than the old style. 

" Instead of having it round it is made oblong, being about fifteen inches wide 
at the top by twenty-four long, narrower at the bottom, of course the same as 
common pans are made. In the center there is a tin partition, soldered in firmly 
at the ends and bottom, so that I have two compartments, one for washing the 
dishes in and the other for rinsing them in. 

" Such a pan as this is not unhandy to use, and saves the trouble of keeping a 
rinsing dish, and what is more advantageous, it prevents the liabihty ot neglect- 
ing to rinse the dishes at all when they come out of the wash water. This neg- 
lect is very common, much more so than it should be. A meat plate cannot be 
made clean by simply washing it in greasy dish water and wiping it with a 
damp cloth." 

To Mend Tin Ware. — It may be done with putty. It is very easily ap- 
plied and it is much better than to throw articles away. Put it on the outside ; 
let it thoroughly dry, and you will never have to mend that place again. See 
Solder and Soldering, page 189. 

Japanning Old Tea Trays. — First clean them thoroughly with soap 
and water and a little rotten stone ; then dry them by wipmg and exposure to 
the fire. Now get some good copal varnish ; mix with it some bronze powder 
and apply with a brush to the denuded parts. After which set the tea tray in 
a very hot oven until the varnish is dry. Two coats will, it is said, make it equal 
to new. 

To Clean a Spider. — Soap will not clean a greasy spider. Put ashes 
into it and pour in a little water. In a few minutes scrape it all out with a stick 
and rinse it out with water. It is then ready for your dish water and clgths 
without additional soap. Some keep a jar of lye beside the sink into which to 
dip any very greasy dish. There is no better way of cleaning a spider in which 
onions have been cooked than to boil ashes and water in it. 

Baking in Stone Crocks. — Either brown or white bread baked in stone 
crocks holds moisture much longer than when baked in the usual tin molds. 
The flaring topped one gallon crock, such as is used for setting milk in, is 



KITCHEN AND TABLE WARE. 617 

the most suitable size. These crocks are very much used for boiling vegetables, 
making sauce of different kinds, baking puddings, etc., and are a great improve- 
ment over tin or iron vessels. 

To Clean Pre§erve Jars. — Sweetmeat jars or bottles may be cleaned 
without scraping them, by pouring in the jars hot water and a teaspoonful or 
two of pearlash. The contents which remain sticking to the sides and bottom 
of the jar will be disengaged by the pearlash and float loose in the water. 

Wash kettles the same way, or other vessels which you wish to purify or clear 
from grease. Strong lye poured off clear from good hickory ashes will answer 
nearly as well for the same purpose, and for kegs, buckets and other large cook- 
ing utensils, lye from wood ashes may always be used. 

To Clean Jars and Buckets. — A convenient method of cleansing a 
jar, bucket, tub or barrel, is to place a small quantity of lime on the bottom, and 
then slaking it with hot water in which as much salt has been dissolved as it will 
take up. It will purify it like a charm. Cover vessel to keep steam in. 

Sweetening Stone Jars. — A housekeeper writes : " Having some stone 
jars in which lard had been packed until they became unfit for use, I made them 
perfectly sweet by packing them full of fresh earth, and letting it remain two or 
three weeks. This is an experiment with me, and I suspect it would be equally 
effective in any case of foul earthen or stone ware." 

Hetiding- Broken Dishes. — As soon as a plate gets cracked part way 
across, crack it the rest of the way ; don't wash it after breaking, but cement it 
at once. Pie or baking plates that have been used for even a few times after 
being cracked, cannot be as successfully mended as those freshly broken, for 
cementing materials will not adhere to greasy surfaces with much tenacity. 

White Lead for Mending^ Dishes. — Prepared white lead can be pur- 
chased in pound cans and kept always ready for use (after the can has been 
opened keep a little linseed oil on the surface to prevent the lead hardening). 
Paint both edges of the parts with the lead mixed to a consistency little thicker 
than it usually is when spread with a brush ; bind the article closely, and allow 
it to stand until perfectly dry before putting into use again. Nothing is gained 
by setting the repaired article where it is hot, for the power of the cement is 
greatly lessened by this operation. When purchasing the paint, be sure and get 
a pure article of lead, for Spanish whiting will not answer the purpose. Lead 
freshly mixed is not good; the material becomes more adhesive by standing a 
while, both as a cement and as a paint. 

Cementing Dishes with Ulilk. — The old plan of boiling broken dishes 
in milk is a very quick way of mending, and I have seen those made perma- 
nently strong by simply being tied up, soaked in warm, freshly drawn milk and 
dried; what I mean by warm, freshly drawn milk is that containing the animal 
heat. A glutinous property, doubtless caseine, penetrates the fracture and con- 
geals with a firmness very tenacious. 



^l8 KITCHEN AND TABLE WARE. 

To Mend CMna. — Mix together equal parts of fine glue, whites of eggs 
and white lead, and with it anoint the edges of the articles to be mended ; press 
them together, and when hard and dry scrape off as much of the cement as 
sticks about the joint. The juice of garlic is another good cement, and leaves 
■no mark where it has been used. 

Another MetSiocl. — Take a very thick solution of gum arable and stir it 
into plaster of Paris until the mixture is of proper consistency. Apply it with a 
brush to the fractured edges of the chinaware and stick them together. In a 
few days it will be impossible to break the articles in the same place. The 
^whiteness of the cement renders it doubly valuable. 

Ising'lass Cement for Irishes. — Take isinglass, one ounce; distilled 
water, six ounces ; alcohol, one and one-half ounces ; warm in a water bath till 
<iissolved, and strain the solution. Add to the clear solution, while hot, a milky 
•emulsion of gum ammoniac, one half ounce, alcoholic solution of gum mastic, 
five drams ; this possesses great adhesive qualities. 

Fire-proof Cement for Dislies. — To make a fire and water-proof ce- 
/ment to be used on broken ware, take a teacupful each of vinegar and milk, mix, 
separate the curd and mix the whey with whites of two or three eggs; beat this 
mixture well together, then add enough common or quick lime to make the ce- 
ment of proper consistency. A less or greater quantity can be made as required. 
It will be found good. 

Sugar Cement for Oislies. — Starch, one ounce ; white sugar, four 
•ounces, added to a solution of one ounce of gum arable in hot water the mix- 
ture is boiled until the starch is cooked. 

Watergrlass Cement for I>i§Iies. — Waterglass is said to make a good 
material for mending either china, earthenware or glass. 

To Clean Porcelain. — A very good material for cleaning either por- 
celain or glassware is fuller's earth, but it must be beaten into a fine powder 
and carefully cleared from all rough or hard particles. If hard particles are left 
in they will endanger the polish of the brilliant surface. 

U§e for Old I>islie§. — Old dishes, not greasy, I have found useful and 
pretty to hold nice green growing things — say a sod of opening violets — which 
will grow and bloom and get greener and prettier the longer it stands on your 
window sill ; or a mat of door yard ivy, or myrtle, or anything that trails and 
tangles, and is beautiful. 

To Pack Crockery. — As a rule, when packing crockery in a box or bar- 
rel, put all of the heavy pieces at the bottom, th^n mark the box that it may be 
kept right side up. Use straw or hay to pack them in, and if they are to be 
sent a long way and are heavy, the hay or straw should be a little damp, which 
will prevent them slipping about. Use plenty of this material, and keep the 
ware pressed closely together. At top, bottom and on the sides there should 
be a good thickness of new straw. New straw is more elastic than old. 



CARE OF GLASS ARTICLES. 619 

CARE OF GLASS ARTICLES. 



Cleaning^ Mirrors, — Never allow the plate of a mirror to be cleaned with 
newspaper. Almost all newspapers now used contain straw as a component, and 
as the substance of straw is largely composed of silex (flint), which cannot be 
entirely eliminated in the process of manufacture, the result is a multitude of 
minute scratches on the face of the glass, not always visible to the naked eye 
singly, but finally in a mass producmg a cloudy and dull appearance, ruinous to 
the glass. Chamois skin kept in a drawer free from dust, and the delicate tis- 
sue paper, are the best materials for glass cleaning. 

Repairing' Mirrors. — Take a piece of a broken mirror and mark out 
Avith a knife point a section a little larger than the place to be repaired, put a 
drop of mercury upon it, and in a short time the material may be lifted off by 
means of a thin blade and conveyed to the bare place ; after placing it carefully, 
press it down with some soft material like raw cotton. Before applying the 
quicksilver be certain that the damaged spot is made perfectly clean, as any 
specks or greasy spots will make the work incomplete. 

Perhaps the work can be more effectually done by sliding the mercury from 
the broken piece of glass. Repairing mirrors needs a little practice first upon 
pieces. 

Silvering Mirrors. — Take a sheet of tinfoil and spread it upon a table ; 
then rub mercury upon it till the two metals incorporate. Lay the plate of glass 
upon it and load it with weights, which will have the effect of pressing out the 
excess of mercury that was applied to the tinfoil. In a few hours the tinfoil will 
adhere to the glass and convert it into a mirror. 

To Protect Mirrors. — A mirror hung where the sun can shine on it is 
usually spoiled ; it takes a granulated appearance familiar to housekeepers, 
though they may not be acquainted with its cause. In such a state the article 
is nearly worthless ; the continuity of its surface is destroyed, and it will not 
reflect outlines with any approach to precision. Care should therefore be exer- 
cised in hanging. 

When moving from one house to another, not unfrequently a man or boy 
may be seen in the street carrying a mirror in such a way that the full glare of 
noonday sun strikes and injures. Owners of such articles would, as a rule, be 
able to keep and use them much longer if they would exercise more caution in 
this regard. 

Avoid hanging a mirror near a stove or fire place, where the heat radiated can 
reach it. If this precaution is neglected, granulation is likely to occur, even in 
a comparatively dark room, by the influence of warmth instead of light. A 
lamp or gas jet, if placed too close while burning, though it may not crack the 
g-lass, will often bring about the same injurious crystallization. 



620 CARE OF GLASS ARTICLES. 

In packing mirrors for removal, they should be placed by themselves in a box^ 
and fixed in their places by side pieces and wedges, driven closely and nailed * 
laths should be placed across mirrors, and no elastic materials, as pillows or 
feather beds, be used in packing them. 

To Clean a Olobe. — If the globes on a glass fixture are much stained 
on the outside by smoke, soak them in tolerably hot water in which a little 
washing soda has been dissolved. Then put a teaspoonful of powdered ammo- 
nia in a pan of lukewarm water, and with a hard brush scrub the globes until 
the smoke stains disappear. Rinse in clean, cold water. They will be as white 
as if new. 

To Perforate a Olobe. — It is said that a small hole may be bored 
through the top of a glass globe by first cementing to the glass with beeswax 
a small block of wood, with a hole in the center as a guide. Then procure a 
piece of copper tube of the diameter required and of convenient length for the 
drill. 

Pass the thread of a bow string around the tube, supply it with the finest 
emery and water, and work the bow back and forth, so as to twirl the drill (the 
tube). (See " Spring Bow," page 252.) The hole will soon be cut through the 
glass. This will answer for perforating glass of any kind. 

How to Drill Olass.— A hard steel tool will cut glass with great facil- 
ity when kept freely wet with camphor dissolved in turpentine. A drill bow 
may be used or even the hand alone. A hole bored may be readily enlarged 
by a round file. The ragged edges of glass vessels may also be thus easily 
smoothed by a flat file. 

Flat window glass can readily be sawed by a watch spring saw by aid of this 
solution. In short, the most brittle glass can be wrought almost as easily as 
brass by the use of cutting tools kept constantly moist with camphorized oil of 
turpentine. 

It is said diluted sulphuric acid is much more effective, with less wear of the 
tool, than oil of turpentine. It is stated that at Berlin, glass castings for pump 
barrels, etc., are drilled, planed and bored like iron ones, and in the same lathes 
und machines, by the aid of sulphuric acid. 

To Cut Olass. — The same Hquid, turpentine and camphor, as used in drill- 
xng, may be used in cutting with any steel instrument, or even a sharp edge of 
an arrow point or fragment of flint. I have used in a chemical laboratory a 
small flame from an alcohol lamp for cutting, or rather cracking, glass. First at 
the edge file a notch for a starting point, then apply the flame, which may be 
produced through a minute perforation in a glass connected with some rubber 
piping, so as to allow of the flame being conveniently carried from point to point. 
The crack will run before the flame in any desired direction. 

To Divide a Tube. — Place the tube in a vessel of water, to the height 
where it is designed to break it ; also fill tube to same level. Now pour coal oil 



CARE OF GLASS ARTICLES. 621 

inside and out on the water ; cut a ring of paper fitting the bottle or tube ; satu- 
rate with alcohol or benzine so that it touches the oil. Pour also some inside 
the bottle. Set on fire ; the cold water prevents the glass from heating below 
its surface, while the expansion caused by the heat will break the vessel on the 
water line. 

Cheap Olass Cutter. — A correspondent gives the following simple way 
of making a good glass cutter. With the addition of camphorated turpentine, 
it will probably answer the purpose of a diamond. 

Take an old, worn out, three cornered file, grind the end to a three cornered 
point, heat it red hot, and immediately plunge into a mixture of snow and salt. 
Retouch it on the stone to remove the scale, and it is ready for use. If rightly 
done it will give very good satisfaction. 

In using it, hold the file nearly perpendicular, slightly inclined forward, and 
with a gentle pressure draw it rapidly over the glass without changing its inclin- 
ation, to the surface. In cutting thick glass it is safer to cut on both sides 
before attempting to separate the pieces, but thin glass may be cut with the 
greatest facility. 

When the point becomes dull from use it will produce only a ragged surface 
— scratch, but will not cut. It then needs regrinding. A single turn of the 
stone is sufficient to put it into working order again. Such a glass cutter is very 
serviceable for preparing glass for various purposes. The sharp corner of a 
piece of flint will sometimes cut glass readily. 

To Mend Tumblers, — For mending glass tumblers to be used for keep- 
ing jellies, etc., in, white lead is good ; in fact almost any of the cements 
used for broken dishes are, but for ornamental glassware a transparent cement 
is required. Balsam of fir used in a thick state is excellent, but will not stand 
hot water. Seventy-five parts India rubber mixed with sixty parts of benzine 
and fifteen parts of mastic is said to be a good transparent mixture for repair- 
ing glass, but I have never tested its virtue. 

To Remove Olass Stoppers. — Take the bottle or decanter by the neck 
with the left hand, and place the first finger at the back of the stopper. Take 
a piece of wood in the right hand, and tap the stopper first one side and then 
the other, turning the decanter around in the hand. A quick succession of little, 
short taps, is the most effective. 

If this plan fails, wind a bit of rough string once around the neck, one end of 
the string being held by one person, and the other by another ; pull backward 
and forward till the neck becomes hot with the friction. Then tap as before. 

Where the stopper is not loosened by mechanical influences alone, put one or 
two drops of sweet oil round the stopper, close to the mouth of the bottle, then 
put it a little distance from the fire. When the decanter gets warm, have a 
wooden instrument with a cloth wrapped tight around it ; then strike the stopper, 
first on one side, then on the other ; by persevering a little while you will most 



622 CARE OF GLASS ARTICLES. 

likely get it out. Or you may lay the bottle in warm water, so that the neck of 
the stopper may be under water. Let it soak for a time, then knock it with a 
wooden instrument as before. 

Sometimes they may be loosened by binding around the neck of the bottle a 
cloth wet with boiling water. Another way recommended is to put a drop or 
two of glycerine in the crevice about the stopper. In an hour or two the 
stopper will be loose. 

To mend Broken 01a§$. — Most of the substances used in mending 
broken glass so color the seam that it gives a bad appearance. Gum shellac is 
the best material I ever applied for mending tumblers, bottles, etc. 

Dissolve the shellac in alcohol until about the consistency of molasses, and 
apply with point of penknife or splinter of wood. It sets quickly, and makes the 
mend firm, and v^ill stand any common usage ; boiling water, however, will 
soften the cement and sever the parts. Another way is to dissolve fine glue ia 
strong acetic acid to form a thin paste. 

To Clean Bottles, Etc. — To clean glasses, bottles and decanters 
brightly, break a few raw egg shells in the article to be cleansed, with a little 
cold water — if greasy, warm — and a little soda ; shake well, rinse with plenty of 
cold water, and the objects will shine as nothing else will make them. Another 
way is to rinse them out thoroughly with water and powdered charcoal. Char- 
coal allowed to remain in for a few hours will act as a good disinfectant. When 
greasy substances have not been used bottles may be cleaned by half filling 
with tea leaves and a little water, and then add a spoonful of common vinegar; 
proceed to shake all together thoroughly, then empty, and rinse well with cold 
water. To clean flasks and small necked vessels chemists use blotting paper, 
with enough water to make it into a pulp. Vigorously swung round, this will 
clean the dirtiest vessel. My process to thoroughly clean a bottle that is to be 
used for medicine, is to wash with hot water, soap, sand and ashes. Shake well, 
then rinse thoroughly with ammonia water, finally with clean water, then set 
the bottle top downward to drain. After apparently dry, put in an oven and 
bake for an hour, then rinse with pure alcohol, cork it up and put it away for 
use. AH bottles about a house should be kept labeled. 

Musty Bottles. — It is often the confined air, and not the bottle, that is 
musty ; because in washing, the bottle being but partly filled with water, the air 
is but partly expelled. After washing the bottle, it should be filled to overflow- 
ing with cold water, and it will be found perfectly free from mustiness. 

Simple Mode of Toug'liening' Olass. — A Leipsic journal gives a 
method which it asserts will prevent lamp chimneys from cracking. The treat- 
ment will not only render lamp chimneys, tumblers, and like articles more 
durable, but may be applied with advantage to crockery, stoneware, porcelain, 
etc. 

The chimneys, tumblers, etc., are put into a pot filled with cold water, to 



CARE OF GLASS ARTICLES. 625. 

which some common table salt has been added. The water is well boiled over 
a fire, and then allowed to cool slowly. When the articles are taken out and 
washed, they will be found to resist afterward any sudden changes of tempera- 
ture. 

To Clean 01as§. — A street lamp cleaner, in New York City, says that 
the best article for cleaning glass is kerosene. He used that sometimes mixed. 
with sperm oil and stove blacking, but the best recipe for removing stubborn,, 
sticky dirt on glass is a little oxalic acid, a little alcohol, and equal parts of kero- 
sene and sperm oil. And a curious thing about it is, that the older and dirtier 
his rag gets, the better it seems to clean the glass. 

To Clean Len§es. — The lenses of spectacles or spy glasses that have 
become scratched and dimmed by age may be cleaned with hydrofluoric acid, 
diluted with four or five times its volume of water. The solution should be 
dropped on a wad of cotton and thoroughly rubbed on the glass, which should 
afterward be well washed in clear water. Great care must be exercised in 
handling this acid, as it eats into the flesh, often producing painful and obsti- 
nate sores. 

Care of Spectacles. — Always note the number of your glasses and the 
date of first using them — if lost, you can tell what number you want. Glasses 
should be washed in cold water every day, wiped dry with a linen fabric and 
then with buckskin, never with paper, as it scratches them. 

Cheap Frosting for Olass. — It sometimes happens that a housewife 
wishes some glass article frosted, and it may be done without expense. The 
panels in doors are frequently frosted by dabbing the end of a new, dry paint 
brush against the glass upon which has been spread a very thin layer of white 
paint. 

One writer upon this subject says he has found no material more simple 
than skim milk, with a little powdered whiting mixed with it, say as much 
whiting as the size of a walnut, reduced to a fine powder, and thoroughly 
mixed with two or three quarts of milk. 

I would advise those trying the method to do a piece of glass first. Let it 
dry, and add to the milk or whiting as they require less or more shading. If 
it be put on quickly and thinly with a brush, and followed at once with a dry 
duster brush, merely daubing it quickly with the dry brush, the shading will have- 
the appearance of shaded, ground glass, and look quite neat. 

A common preparation for frosting glass to prevent the too direct action of the 
solar heat, is a wash of whiting and glue water. It must not contain too much 
glue if it is desired to wash it off late in the season. Sometimes this frosting is 
desirable for the shading of house plants. 

Frosted glass, useful for screens, etc., is made by laying the panes horizon- 
tally and covering them with a strong solution of sulphate of zinc. The salt 
crystallizes on drying. 



624 MANAGEMENT OF LAMPS 

To Letter Glass. — To letter with gold and silver leaf on glass, prepare 
the size by dissolving one ounce of isinglass in jus: enough water to cover it; 
when dissolved, add a pint of good alcohol an „ jiake up to a quart with 
prater. Give the clean glass a flowing coat of this and carefully lay on the leaf, 
which will then readily adhere to the glass. Let it remain twenty-four hours to 
•dry. 

The design or letter is drawn on paper, and the lines pricked with needle 
holes. Place this against the gilded surface and dust it thoroughly with pow- 
dered whiting. When the paper is removed, there will remain a correct copy 
of the design or letter on the gold. Now fill up the outline with oil gold size in 
which has been ground some orange chrome, thinned somewhat with boiled oil 
and turpentine. When this has thoroughly dried, wash off the surplus gold 
with water, applied with a tuft of cotton. 

To Make Olass Jars Look Like Cliina. — After securing the fig- 
ures, cut them out, so that none of the white of the paper remains ; then take 
some thick gum arable water, pass it over all the figures, and place them on the 
inside of the glass, to taste. 

Let them stand to dry for twenty-four hours ; then clean them well with a 
■damp cloth betwixt the prints, and let them stand a few hours longer, lest the 
dampness should move any of the edges ; then take white wax and flake white 
ground very fine, and melt them together. With a japanning brush go over aU 
the glass and above the prints. 

Done in this manner, they will hold water. Or, boil isinglass to a strong jelly, 
and mix it up with white lead, ground fine, and lay it on in the same manner ; 
or use nut oil and flake white. For a blue ground, use white wax and Prussian 
blue ; for red, wax and vermilion or carmine ; for green, wax and verdigris ; for 
chocolate color, wax and burnt umber. 



MANAGEMENT OF LAMPS. 



To Clean a Lamp Cliimney. — Most people in cleaning lamp chimneys 
either use a brush made of bristles twisted into a wire, or a rag on the point of 
scissors. Both of these are bad ; for without great care, the wire or scissors 
will scratch the glass as a diamond does, which, under the expansive power of 
heat, soon breaks, as all scratched glass will. If you want a neat little thing 
that costs -nothing, and will save half your glass, tie a piece of soft sponge the 
size of your chimney to a pine stick. 

Aiiotlier Method. — Hold a linen cloth against one end of the chimney 
and place the other end at your mouth ; breathe on it until it is covered inside 
with moisture ; push the cloth into the chimney with a smooth, slender stick, and 



MANAGEMENT OF LAMPS. 625 

rub it around until the moisture is absorbed ; repeat the process and breathe on 
the outer surface ; also rub this with a cloth until dry, and you have a clean, 
bright chimney. Soft newspaper will take the place of a linen cloth. Do not 
use cotton cloth on glassware. 

To Repair I^ainp Chiiiiiiey§, — Keep a small vial of carriage varnish 
and apply a little with a feather to a crack ; then burn it upon the lamp several 
evenings before washing it. The heat makes it very hard and durable, though 
it discolors the chimney a little. It may be of value at times when it is not con- 
venient to get a new one. See " Cements." 

How to Test Lamp CMmneys. — Every person who has any experi- 
ence with lamp chimneys is aware of the want of uniformity in the length of 
time they will stand use. Some will stand for months, while others, apparently 
as sound and good, will break after a short use, with no apparent cause. The 
great cause of their being brittle and breaking so easily lies in the material 
they are made from. There is shoddy in glass as well as in cloth. 

Cheapness being the order of the day, a great many manufactories make 
chimneys from cheap materials. 

The uninitiated may tell the different qualities of glass by ringing it ; the 
vibrations of the lead glass chimneys have a sweet, bell like sound, while the 
lime glass has a short, harsh sound. 

To Toughen Laiiip diimneys. — A correspondent of mine says when 
you buy a new lamp chimney put it in a vessel of cold water, set it on a stove and 
let it boil. You can never break that chimney unless you throw a flat-iron 
at it. 

To OrnaHient a Lamp Shade. — A pretty effect may be produced by 
pasting with mucilage autumn leaves and ferns on the inside of porcelain shades, 
particularly those belonging to the student lamp. They should be the .bright- 
est, smallest specimens, and may be arranged either in clusters or a wreath all 
the way around. They should be prepared in the usual way, pressed or ironed. 
They will remain bright two or three months, and when faded can easily be 
soaked off with warm water and replaced with others. 

Filled-up Lamp IVicks. — The unsatisfactory light frequently given by 
kerosene lamps is often due to the wick. The filtering of several quarts of oil 
through a wick which holds every particle of dirt in it, must necessarily gradu- 
ally obstruct the pores of the -wick. Consequently, although a wick may be long 
enough to last some time, its conducting power may be so impaired that good 
light cannot be obtained. The only remedy is a new wick. Burners are often 
thrown aside as worthless, on account of the difficulty of raising and lowering 
the wick, when the fault is almost invariably with the wick. 

Home-made Lamp Wich. — A very good lamp wick may be made out 
of Canton flannel. Take a strip three times as wide as you wish the wick to be, 
and as long as you like. Fold it with the fleecy side in, so that it will have 



626 MANAGEMENT OF LAMPS. 

three thicknesses, and baste or overcast it up the side. Almost every house^ 
keeper has bits of Canton flannel which would be used for nothing else. 

To Mend Lamps. — Boil three parts of resin with one part of caustic 
soda and five parts water, which mix with one-half its weight of plaster of 
Paris. Zinc white or precipitated chalk may be substituted for plaster of Paris, 
but the material will be longer hardening. 

To Prevent I^amps Exploding^. — The cause of explosion has usually 
been attributed to allowing the oil to get low in the lamp, the vacuum filling 
with gas. Another cause assigned is, that explosions sometimes take place 
through neglecting to cut off the charred portion of the wick when the lamp is 
filled. 

Observation will show that in a few days' use the wick becomes like charcoal 
in composition considerably below the top of the tube, and after the lamp has 
burned a short time the heated tube fires all of the charred portion of the wick 
inside, and that sets the oil on fire below ; this may be prevented by cutting off 
a sufficient portion of the charred wick each day after using the lamp. 

Thus it appears that all housewives have to do to make the use of coal oil 
lamps as safe as any other, is to keep them full ; fill them by daylight, and have 
the wicks well trimmed. It is claimed also that a tablespoonful of salt in the 
oil of a lamp will render it non-explosive. 

To Prevent a Lamp Smoking. — The following process is said to be 
a sure way to prevent oil lamps from smoking : Take any quantity of onions, 
bruise them, put all into a retort and distill ; pour a little of this liquor into the 
bottom of the lamp, and it will not smoke. 

How to Fill a Lamp. — One of the rules of the household should be 
that the lamps be filled during the daytime. If a lamp must be filled at night, 
for any reason, don't lay the lighted burner over on one side of the lamp while 
pouring in the oil, but extinguish it, or take it out entirely, and remove the lamp 
at least three feet from any light or fire while filling it. 

Safeguard for Lamp§. — One great danger in the use of coal oil lamps 
lies in the breakages that frequently occur from dropping or upsetting them. 
The lamp that is carried about the house by servants and children should be 
filled with cotton. 

After it is stuffed lightly it will receive only about one-half the quantity of oil 
which it would if the cotton was not put in. If any accident happens, the oil 
cannot spill or flow about, but being absorbed in the cotton, it burns like a fagot, 
but all in one place. 

The wick embedded in the cotton will absorb the oil as readily as if lying in 
the clear fluid. 

How to Test Lamp Oil. — Take a common quart bowl, fill it one-third 
full of boiling water ; now add cold water, a little at a time, until a thermometer 
placed in it indicates a temperature of one hundred and ten degrees Fahrenheit. 



MANUFACTURE AND CARE OF FURS. 627 

A tablespoonful of the oil to be tested may be turned into the water, and stirred 
about with the thermometer. It will float on top and it may be touched witli a 
lighted match or bit of paper. If it ignites, or takes fire, the oil is dangerous ; 
and the seller can be Prosecuted under the United States law. It must not be 
used in the family. 

In this experiment, so simple that all can make it, an accurate thermometer 
should be used. 



MANUFACTURE AND CARE OF FURS. 



Los§ in Furs, — Probably the reason that furs are not more extensively 
used in the rural districts of this country, is because they are expensive if pur- 
chased, and people commonly do not know how to prepare the fresh skin for 
domestic use. The Americati Artisan once furnished some very good hints 
upon this subject, which I give in substance : It is no extravagance to assert in 
this connection that every farmer's family may furnish their own fur collars, 
gloves, robes, and other articles of dress and ornament, with trifling expense, 
from the resources within their own reach, but from want of more knowledge on 
this subject valuable skins are wasted or disposed of for a mere fraction of their 
real value, and articles of apparel that should have been made from them are 
bought at extravagant prices of fur dealers. 

"WSiat Fur§ May be Used. — The skins of raccoons, minks, muskrats, 
rabbits, foxes, deer, cats, dogs, woodchucks and skunks, are all valuable. Hand- 
some robes may be made from the skins of the last two animals, and the writer 
has seen fur coats made from the skins of woodchucks, well tanned, dyed and 
trimmed, which were elegant as well as comfortable, and no one but a connois- 
seur would be able to guess their origin. Of the finer and nicer furs, beautiful 
collars, muffs, cuffs, caps, gloves, and trimmings may be made with little inge- 
nuity and perseverance ; and who would not feel great satisfaction in wearing a 
nice article from the fact that it was something of his own manufacture, a 
product of his own taste and genius ? 

Furs and Skins for Mats. — Very handsome floor mats are m.ade by 
tanning skins of large fur bearing animals, then dyeing them some bright color, 
which is done with very little trouble, the art of dyeing is now so familiar to 
almost every household. Furs may be dyed as easily as woolen goods, notwith- 
standing the impression that it is an art known only to the trade. Any dye that 
will color woolens will also dye furs. One care must be taken not to have the 
dye too hot, or the texture of the skin will be injured. 

Tanning SRins and Furs. — The mode of tanning usually followed by 
city furriers is to rub the skins well with rancid butter, then tread them thor- 



d28 MANUFACTURE AND CARE OF FURS. 

oughly in a tub or vat, after which a large quantity of sawdust is mixed with 
them, and the process of treading continued until all the grease is absorbed, 
when they are finished off by beating, working, and rubbing with chalk and 
potters' clay, whipping and brushing. 

An old trapper practiced this method with small skins, first washing with a 
suds of soap and sal soda to free them from grease, then rinsing in clear water 
to cleanse them from the suds, then rubbing as dry as possible, after which they 
were put into a mixture of two ounces of salt to a quart of water, added to 
three quarts of milk or bran water, containing one ounce of best sulphuric acid. 

They are stirred briskly for forty or fifty minutes ; from this they are taken 
dripping into a strong solution of sal soda, and stirred till they will no longer 
foam ; they are then hung up, and when nearly dry are taken down and rubbed 
dry, when they are very soft and pliable. 

A very good and simple process in use am.ong farmers is to sprinkle the flesh 
side, after scraping it well, with equal parts of pulverized alum and salt, or wash- 
ing it well with a strong solution of the same, then folding the flesh side together, 
and rolling it compactly, in which state it should remain for eight or ten days; 
then it is opened, sprinkled with bran or sawdust to absorb the moisture, and 
rolled up again, and after remaining twenty-four hours the process is completed 
by thorough rubbing and manipulation, on which the pliability depends. 

Skins when taken off should be freed from grease or flesh, by thorough scrap- 
ing, when they may be dried and left to await the leisure of the owner. Pre- 
vious to tanning they must be well soaked and wrung dry. See page 308. 

Ho^iv to CoSor Skins. — To color buff : Five parts whiting to two parts 
yellow ocher, and mix them with water to a paste ; make into cakes and dry. 
When a dressed skin is dry, rub one of the balls on the surface ; rub the powder 
in ; take a piece of sand paper and raise a nap on the leather by going over with 
it. This is simply to color the leather side. 

To color black : Use clear logwood ; after it is dry use copperas water to 
blacken it. Be careful not to use too much copperas. 

To color dark brown : Five pounds oak bark, four pounds fustic, fourteen 
ounces of logwood. Use alum water to make it permanent. 

To color orange : For five pounds skin, muriate of tin, three ounces ; ox gall, 
four ounces ; boil and dip one hour ; then add fustic, two and a half pounds ; 
boil ten minutes and dip one-half hour, and add again madder, one teacup, and 
dip again one-half hour. Cochineal in place of madder makes a much brighter 
color ; add in small quantities about two ounces. 

To Clean Sable and Mink Furs. — In order to have the skin free for 
treatment, the first thing to be done is to unpick and take out all silk fining, 
wadding, etc., that may have been used in making up the muff or tippet. Then 
take one gallon of water, half a pound of white or best mottled soap, and a 
handful of bran. Cut up the soap and boil it in the water until it is dissolved ; 



MANUFACTURE AND CARE OF FURS. 629 

then let it cool till nearly lukewarm, and mix in the bran. With this fluid almost 
any kind of fur may be cleaned. 

A honeycomb sponge is the best material to use in applying the fluid, the ob- 
ject being to cleanse the fur without wetting the skin more than can be avoided. 
Having cleaned the fur with this fluid, still warm, it must next be thoroughly 
rinsed with clean water, well blued in the usual way. The same sponge will do 
for this purpose as was used in the first instance. 

After this treatment, the fur must be dried as quickly as possible, but not be- 
fore a fire, unless at some distance from it, shaking the skin repeatedly while it 
is drying, to prevent the hair from matting together. If the skin has become 
wetted by the operation, and dries hard, it must be rubbed soft before making up. 

Finally, the fur will require a good deal of brushing to bring the hair once 
more to follow the grain of the skin. Another and more simple way of partially 
cleaning fur is merely to brush it, using dr)' pipe clay on the brush. This 
method, however, is better suited to keep fur clean when it is so, than to reno- 
vate it when it is much soiled. 

Making up Furs, — The novice cannot learn half so well from printed 
hints how to make gloves, collars, etc., as to use an old article for pattern. By 
carefully cutting the seams of a used up pair of gloves or a collar, those which 
were good fits, the new skins may be cut by the different parts, and sewed to- 
gether so as to make sightly articles of wear. 

How to Tell Oood Furs. — When examining skins for making up, or 
when purchasing fur garments, a good test as to quality is to blow briskly 
against the incline or set of the fur. If the fibers open readily, exposing the skin 
to view, reject the article ; but if the down is so dense that the breath cannot 
penetrate it, or at most shows but a small portion of the skin, the article may 
be accepted. 

Care of Furs. — Ladies, as a general rule, imagine that care in putting 
away furs is all that is required ; they think they can wear them when and how 
they please, provided they expend a few cents for camphor when they lay them 
aside. This idea should be corrected. More harm is done to furs by wearing 
them for a week after the weather has become warm than during the whole 
season. 

When they are put aside they should be brushed the right way with a soft 
brush, an old linen handkerchief folded smoothly over them, and a piece of gum 
camphor kept in the box all the time, or put them in a close box, and with good 
paste or mucilage fasten a strip of paper over the crack left between the lid and 
box and put them in the closet. The fall will find them safe and free from the 
unpleasant odors that tobacco, camphor, etc., always leave in furs. 

Another very good way is to put the furs in a paper sack, tied up closely, so 
that the most minute fly cannot reach them. Put them in a dark place, and 
they will come out in good condition when needed. 



630 MANAGEMENT OF KID GLOVES. 

lIo\r to Repair a Muff. — When mutfs are bought they are often lined 
with cheap silk, that soon wears out. To repair them take some broad ribbon, 
brown for an elderly lady, scarlet or crimson for a girl. Take a piece of soft, 
red flannel, for the inside of the muff, and place the ribbon lining on it so that 
it will bring it just the right length and width when sewed in. Sew it up and 
have it all made neatly, ready to put in and sew around the edges. Use fine, 
silk thread, the color of the lining. 

Pin it in place before commencing, else it will draw unevenly. If the tassels 
are worn out and beyond being respectable, take a bit of ribbon two inches 
wide, the color of the lining, and make a bow with ends and fasten on where 
the seam comes together. 



MANAGEMENT OF KID GLOVES. 



Selecting Kid Oloves. — In selecting kids, it should not be the object to 
obtain a thick or very thin pair, those of medium thickness usually being the 
toughest and best. Much depends upon the condition or kind of leather ; if 
soft, oily, and will stretch easily, they usually wear well. By saying that much 
depends upon the kind of leather, I mean the kind of animal from which the 
skin was taken, although the matter cannot be determined by all when examin- 
ing the gloves ; so perfectly has the art of tanning rat skins made them imitate 
the real kid that none but experts can detect any difference. The skins of the 
Siberian rats, the sewer rats of Paris, the common wharf and house rats are 
used. 

The process of cleansing, bleaching and dyeing rat and kid skins are so sim- 
ilar, that by the time the two kinds are placed beside each other in the same 
box, the affection for the young goat and the repugnance of the rat are entirely 
forgotten. 

How to Put on liid Crloves. — ^When purchasing gloves, people are 
usually in too much of a hurry ; they carelessly put them on, and let them go 
in that way then, thinking to do the work more completely at another time. 
When this is the case a person is sure to m^eet with disappointment, for as the 
glove is made to fit the hand the first time it is worn, so it will fit ever after, 
and no amount of effort will make a satisfactory change. 

Never allow a stretcher to be used, for the gloves will not be likely to fit as 
well for it. All of the expansion should be made by the hands ; if the kids are 
so small as to require the aid of a stretcher, they should not be purchased, as 
they will prove too small for durability, comfort or beauty. 

When selecting gloves, choose those with fingers to correspond with your 
own in length ; take time to put them on, working in the fingers first, until ends 



MANAGEMENT OF KID GLOVES. 63I 

meet ends, then put in the thumb, and smooth them down until they are made 
to fit nicely. 

A glove that sets well will usually wear well, at least will wear better than 
one of the same kind that does not fit well. When the ends of the fingers do 
not come down right, or when they are so long as to form wrinkles upon the 
sides of the fingers, they will chafe out easily. Where the stretcher has to be 
used to make the fingers large enough, the body part will be so small as to 
cramp the hand so that it cannot be shut without bursting the seams of the kids. 

Some recommend putting new kid gloves into a damp cloth before they are 
put on, and allowing them to remain there until moistened. With this treat- 
ment they can be put on much easier than otherwise, and will fit very nicely 
until they get dry ; but on second wearing there will be an unnatural harshness 
about them, wrinkling in spots, and they will not set so perfectly as at first. I 
have tried the dampening process, and do not approve of it. 

Put on your right glove first. Then you have your left hand ungloved to but- 
ton your right with. If you put on your left glove first, you have to button your 
right glove under disadvantage. 

Care of Kid Oloves. — When gloves are removed from the hands they 
should not be wadded up and laid away in that condition, for they are very 
much injured in appearance by such treatment. It is a very common practice 
to place the gloves together and turn one of them inside out over the other, or 
to wad them up and cram them into the pocket. With such use they never 
can be made to set or look well upon the hands, there being a rough, wrinkled 
appearance which shows as much to disadvantage as would any cloth garment 
'mussed up " in the same way. 

As soon as gloves are taken off, the fingers and hands should be smoothed 
out nicely, and the pair laid away in that condition ; if they are damp, let them 
dry upon the hands, rubbing them lightly during the time. 

Where they are to be carried in the pocket straighten them out, lay the insides 
together, and roll them from side to side, and put them into the pocket with 
fingers up. 

Injury to kid gloves from perspiration of the hand in hot weather will, it is 
said, be prevented by applying ordinary- corn starch dry to the hands before 
drawing on the gloves. Certainly so easy a remedy will find many to try it. 

How to Mend Kid CJ-loves. — Mending should be done as soon as there 
is a fracture; the old saying that "a stitch in time saves nine," is more fully 
verified in kid gloves than almost any other article or garment of wear. 

Where a seam bursts open it may be mended by the common over and over 
stitch, but where a fracture is made in the leather an altogether different treat- 
ment is required to make the repair a substantial one. In mending, silk 
thread of the same color of the gloves should always be used. 

Where the leather has been torn, first sew around the edges with a button- 



632 MANAGEMENT OF KID GLOVES. 

hole stitch, then draw the fracture together by cross stitch, merely catching 
the thread into the first stitches made. In this way gloves may be mended so 
as to possess as much strength as at first ; but sewing into the leather with 
single stitch will not avail much. 

Benzine for Cleaning Kid 01oire§. — Benzine is used very extensively, 
and is good for extracting grease and stains, but should not be used upon pur- 
ple or other very delicate colors, for the dyeing is not usually permanent enough 
to stand benzine, and sometimes will give way to the alcohol and ammonia. 
Buff will stand either of the above. The best manner of applying these cleans- 
ers is to put the kids on, and wash the hands until the dirt is removed, then 
work them dry by rubbing one hand over the other. 

Where the gloves are not cleaned upon the hands, they should be spread out 
upon three or four thicknesses of cloth, and the leather rubbed toward the fin- 
gers ; it is always the best way, however, to do the cleaning with the kids upon 
the hands, keeping them there until dry. When washed in this way, every part 
may be successfully reached. Keep away from the fire or a lighted lamp while 
using the benzine. 

MilR for Cleaning I£id Crloves. — One of the safest and best processes 
for cleaning kid, either gloves or infants' shoes, especially the light blue shade, 
is sweet milk and Castile soap. Rub the gloves thoroughly with a flannel cloth 
which has been first dampened in the milk and then coated with the soap, then 
tise a clean flannel dampened only, and dry carefully. They will be found to 
have nearly if not quite the original polish. 

Aleoliol Preparation§ for Crlove Cleaning. — Alcohol and ammo- 
nia, equal parts, are good ; the gloves should be rubbed after washing until en- 
tirely dry. Alcohol and camphene mixed, equal parts, is also used. Lay the 
gloves on cloth and first rub the surface gently with the solution, then dip 
each glove into a cup containing the liquid, lift it out, squeeze it in the hand, 
and again rub it gently with the sponge, to take out all the wrinkles. After this, 
gather up the cuff in the hand, and blow into it to puff out the fingers, when it 
may be hung up with a thread to dry. This operation should not be conducted 
near to a fire, owing to the inflammable nature of the camphene vapor. 

Soap for Cleaning Mid Crloves. — Such a soap is made by compound- 
ing three ounces of good hard soap, melted in one ounce of warm water, one 
ounce of hyposulphite of soda, and one drachm of liquid ammonia. This liquid 
is applied to the stretched glove by means of a piece of flannel. 

Coloring Mid <JSoves. — The different modes of dyeing are as numerous 
as those of cleaning, but not as reliable ; in fact, it is not well done outside of 
the regular establishments for the purpose, even the professional cloth dyers do 
not attempt the work. Kid gloves may be colored by any one, but there is a 
decided difference between merely coloring, and putting on the elegant finish 
which is given by those who have becom.e professionals in the art. 



KNIT ARTICLES. 633 

When the gloves have become chafed or spotted, the appearance may be im- 
proved by touching the spots w^ith ink or any other coloring substance of same 
shade. Sometimes, when they have become dingy, especially black, and look 
as if needing dyeing, they may be greatly improved by taking common table or 
salad oil, and adding to it enough ink to give it the complexion of the kid. 

A few drops of black ink in a teaspoonful of oil will be sufficient for redress- 
ing a pair of black kids several times. Apply lightly with a feather and let the 
glove dry. 

Black Dye for Gloves. — Steep three handfuls of logwood chips in an 
earthen vessel until the strength is well extracted ; add a little copperas and a 
little alcohol. Put the gloves on the hands, brush over with the mixture, and 
rubbing gently let them dry there, which they will soon do. If not black enough 
brush over a second time and dry as before. 

Form for Dyeing Oloves. — When one objects to doing the coloring 
with the kids upon the hands, they should be put upon wooden substitutes, or 
something that will fill out the leather ; the cheapest substitute being sticks cut 
in shape and size to fit each of the fingers and thumb, and then a form to draw 
the hand part upon ; but one piece need be used at a time. 

Almost any fast dye may be used ; brush over the leather with the coloring 
material ; let it dry ; repeat three or four times ; brush off the superfluous ma- 
terial collected upon the surface of the leather, and when dry rub with a smooth 
stick, and then wipe over with a sponge wet in the white of an tgg. 



KNIT ARTICLES. 



Knitting and Crocheting. — " Ladies who are fond of knitting and 
crocheting are often prevented from making the pretty things they see by not 
knowing how to shape the article. They recognize the stitch of the cloak, cape 
or hood at the first glance, but how can they shape the garment to make it set 
snugly and stylishly, unless by a happy chance some friend has one of the kind 
to lend for a pattern ? 'Even the printed directions are often so vague,' they 
say, ' not telling how many stitches to put on a needle, or how long a chain to 
make for a foundation, and no statements of the number of stitches after widen- 
ing and narrowing, or of how much zephyr is required.' 

" The directions are necessarily vague on these points, because if you wish, for 
instance, to knit a mantle for a girl of seven years old, it is clear that you must 
have more zephyr and a greater number of stitches than for one for a child of 
four ; and then again, a knitted basque, which is considered lovely in shape by 
one lady will be pronounced hideous by another, and yet the same stitch and 



634 KNIT ARTICLES. 

general directions for making it would suit equally well for another shape that 
the latter lady would consider exquisite. 

" The best plan is to obtain from some pattern bazar the exact shape you de- 
sire, cut the garment out of lining muslin and fit it nicely to the figure, and you 
have an accurate pattern for your knitting and crocheting, and can tell by meas- 
urement how many stitches to begin with, and where to widen and where to 
narrow. 

*'If you are not sufficiently practiced in such work to make an estimate of 
amount of zephyr required, take your muslin pattern to the store where you 
purchase your wools, tell them the stitch you intend to use and whether it is to 
be knitted or crocheted, and they will give you the number of ounces required. 
If you live at a distance from the store, send exact measurements and descrip- 
tions in place of the pattern." 

CliiM'si Mnit Skirt. — Use two bone or wooden needles about three times 
the size of common knitting needles. To make a skirt for a child of five years, 
cast on sixty stitches of Germantown yarn for a front breadth and eighty stitches 
for each side breadth. 

Knit first row plain, second row seam, third row plain, fourth row knit first 
two stitches together, then two stitches singly, thread before needle, knit one 
stitch, thread before needle, knit three stitches, take off a stitch, knit a stitch, 
bind ; continue so across the row. Fifth row seam ; sixth row like fourth row. 
Then knit across plain, then knit across seam, then knit across plain, then re- 
peat from fourth row. This makes a wave-like border, which can be knit as 
wide as desired for the bottom of the skirt. The top is simple ribbing ; two 
stitches plain, two seam. A lady's skirt has one hundred and twenty-two 
stitches on each breadth. 

Another pretty border for skirts is the checker-board design. For a child's 
skirt cast on one hundred and eight stitches for the front breadth, and fifty-four 
for each of the two back breadths. Knit ten rows plain, eleventh row knit two 
stitches together, thread in front of needle, two stitches together, thread in front 
of needle, and so on the entire row. Then knit ten rows plain, one row seam, 
one row plain, one row seam. For the next row knit six stitches plain, six seam, 
six plain, six seam entirely across the needle. 

This commences the checker blocks, and the succeeding five rows are knit in 
the same manner, being careful to reverse the seaming so that plain stitches 
come above plain, and seam above seam. You now have one set of blocks com- 
plete, when you may proceed in same manner to knit another set, having them 
alternate with the first ; seam stitches above plain and plain above seam. Five 
sets of blocks make a nice width border. 

If on first reading, these directions seem complicated, it will not take long to 
knit a trial strip, casting on half or quarter the number of stitches, and by fol- 
lowing these specifications the result will be sure to be satisfactory. 



KNIT ARTICLES. 635 

To Knit a Sofa Afg'han. — First in giving directions for making this 
afghan, the combination of its colors being particularly rich and uncommon, it 
will be necessary to state what they are. Get of single zephyr some black, the 
darkest, and a bright shade of scarlet, three shades of orange, the darkest of 
which will blend with the bright scarlet, a lemon color, and white — eight shades 
in all. 

Crochet of the black a chain two yards long, turn and knit seven short stitches, 
in the eighth stitch of the chain putting three stitches ; then knit seven more 
short stitches, skip two of the chain, knit seven, in the eighth knitting three, 
and so on until the end of the chain is reached, thus forming it into points. 
Each successive row is composed entirely of short stitches, no other kind of 
stitch being employed in the body of the afghan. 

The second row and all others are merely a repetition of the first ; two stitches 
being skipped where they are in the first, and three being knit into the center of 
each cluster of three in the first ; the stitches of each row are taken through 
the outer half of those of the preceding. Knit three times across with the black 
zephyr and also three times across with each of the other shades in the follow- 
ing order : 

Next the black use the darker scarlet, then the bright scarlet, the darkest 
orange followed by the two lighter shades, the lemon and the white. These 
twenty-four rows form what we will term the first stripe of the afghan. The 
second stripe is commenced with black zephyr, the other shades following in the 
order described above. In this combination of colors, the black and white being 
side by side, is very effective. 

Five-stripes complete the body of the afghan, two sides of which have straight 
edges, and two pointed ones. The straight edges are finished with a scallop, 
and the points are left without finish, unless a tassel attached to each is liked. 

The quantity of material necessary, if Germantown zephyr is used, is two 
skeins of each shade. If Berlin zephyr is preferred, it will take five ounces of 
each shade. The Germantown looks just about as well, and is less expensive. 

This afghan is beautiful made of all the shades of scarlet, from the darkest 
to the sea shell tint ; next the lightest shade crochet three rows of dark scarlet 
filling silk, finish the edge all around with a chain stitch in silk, and provide 
each of the points with a silk tassel. 

liktauVs Knit SMrt. — The material required is one ounce of white split 
zephyr, or of Saxony yarn. It is knit upon two gutta percha needles two sizes 
larger than ordinary steel needles — the latter may be used if it is desired to 
have the work very close and fine before washing. 

Set up eighty-one stitches and knit one plain row. • The next row begins 
by narrowing one stitch ; knit three stitches, then throw in the thread and knit 
one — this is to widen — throw in the thread again and knit one, then knit two 
and take, on the right hand needle, one stitch from the left. Now narrow one 



636 KNIT ARTICLES. 

and bind ; that is, drop over the stitch you have just narrowed, the one you took 
from the left hand needle. 

Repeat all of the above to the end of this row, then knit across with one 
plain row and back with another, preserving the right and wrong sides of these 
two rows, which complete the scallop. Repeat the three last mentioned rows 
until a piece of sufficient length is knit. Knit another of the same size and join 
the two at the side edges to within a few inches of the top, which leave open for 
inserting sleeves. 

The sleeves are knit with a row of scallops at the lower edge, and are ribbed 
for the top part. Finish the neck, after sewing in the sleeves, with a crotched 
scallop and insert a ribbon to draw it into shape. 

I>oul>le Knit Scarf. — Two colors, blue and white. Cast on thirty-six 
stitches in blue, first row ; bring the wool forward, slip one, pass the wool back, 
knit one ; repeat to end of the row. Each succeeding row is the same, observ- 
ing that the knit stitch always comes under the slip stitch. It will require seven 
rows of blue, seven of white, seven of blue, thirty-eight of white, seven of blue, 
seven of white, seven of blue. Cast off and draw up the ends. Finish with 
blue and white tassels. 

To Knit Diamond Edging. — Cast upon one knitting needle nine 
stitches. Knit three stitches, narrow once, put thread over once, narrow, thread 
over, knit one stitch, thread over, knit one. Knit back seam. Knit two stitches, 
narrow, thread over once, narrow, thread over once, knit three stitches, thread 
over once, knit one. Knit back seam. Knit one, narrow, thread over once, 
narrow, thread over, knit five stitches, thread over, knit one. Knit back seam 
or plain. Knit three stitches, thread over once, narrow, thread over once, nar- 
row, knit one stitch, narrow, thread over once, narrow. Knit plain or seam. 
Knit four stitches, thread over once, narrow three stitches together, thread 
over once, narrow. Knit back seam or plain. Knit five stitches, thread over 
once, narrow three stitches together, thread over once, narrow. Knit seam 
back if you want a right or wrong side. 

Knit Spread for a Light Stand. — Cast on wooden needles one hun- 
dred and twenty-seven stitches. Take off the first stitch, calling it one, thread 
over once, narrow two stitches together, which counts three, thread up over 
once, knit two which count three, and so on clear across. Seam back plain. 
Knit back plain. Seam back on the wrong side, making three times between 
the eyelets. The coarser the needles and yarn the more showy the work. 

To Crocliet Mouse Slippers. — Material required is three ounces of 
double zephyr. Commence the slipper at the toe. Make three chain stitches, 
then knit back with a single crochet, commencing in the very last chain made. 
Into the center one of the three chains put three single crochets for widen- 
ing. 

This row contains five single crochet stitches, and the entire front of the slip- 



KNIT ARTICLES. 637 

per consists of successive rows of single crochet, knit from right to left, each 
row commencing on the last stitch of the preceding, always knitting three single 
crochet in the center to continue the widening. 

The size of front must be ascertained by measurement upon the foot, or cork 
insole which it is designed to use. When large enough commence another row, 
knitting ten stitches ; turn and knit back on these ten. [This is the beginning 
of back part of slipper.] Narrow one stitch at the top of next row, and after a 
plain row, narrow again at the top. You now have eight stitches. 

Continue knitting from right to left six, eight or ten rows, according to the 
size desired. Then from this point, until the middle of the back of the heel is 
reached, widen — by putting two stitches into one — every other row at the top. 
This completes one-half of the back. Break the worsted, take up ten stitches 
on the opposite side of the front and proceed with this last half as with the first, 
joining the two at the center of the heel with a row of single crochet. 

The slipper thus far presents a ribbed appearance caused by knitting each 
stitch into the outer side of those of the preceding row. Be careful to do this. 

Ho^v to Put on Slipper Sole. — Make the upper enough shorter than 
the sole to require stretching when it is sewed on. Finish the top edge of the 
crocheted part with a scallop, first making a row of double crochet (long stitches) 
with two chain between each two stitches. Sew this upper in button hole stitch 
with strong silk to a cork insole of the required size. 

A more durable way, however, is to stitch around the sole a piece of fine 
alpaca braid of the exact shade of the zephyr used ; then sew on the upper 
and finish by neatly binding to it the free edge of the braid. 

The finishing touches to the entire slipper consist in inserting a rubber cord 
just below the scallop for the purpose of holding it close around the foot ; also 
in the same part insert a worsted cord furnished with small balls at the ends and 
tied in a bow knot on the front of the slipper. To invalids and for tender feet 
these slippers are a special comfort, being warm and easy as a stocking. 

Oreek Crochet Cap. — This is made of coarse chenille. Begin at the 
top with a chain of six or eight stitches ; unite the ends and work in rows round 
and round, increasing a sufficient number of stitches in each row to keep the 
work flat, until it is about eight inches in diameter. 

The sides may be worked in open crochet, introducing a few plain lines of 
black and gold between each two rows of open crochet. The best colors for a 
cap in chenille are black and gold — dark blue, black and gold, or claret, black 
and gold. 

Ho^v to Knit Su§penclers. — Material for one pair of suspenders : Two 
balls of fancy colored wrapping twine, such as druggists use for tying up par- 
cels ; two large sized knitting needles, such as are used for knitting woolen 
hose. Cast on twenty stitches, knit the first stitch, turn the thread around as if 
to seam, take off the next stitch without knitting, turn back the thread, knit the 



638 



KNIT ARTICLES. 



next, take off the next the same as before, continue to knit in this manner until 
you have a strip two inches long ; this is for the narrow end which slides into 
the buckle. 

For the wider part knit the first stitch as before, bring the thread round, take 
off the stitch the same as if seaming, then instead of turning the thread back 
bring it over the needle, you will then have a stitch and loop, both resting on the 
knitting needle. Knit the next stitch, take off the next the same as before. 
Thus do until all are knit, you will then have a single and double stitch for every 
alternate one. If the buckles are wide knit all one width. 

In knitting the next time across, take off the single stitch and knit the double 
one. Every time the single stitch is taken off, the thread must be passed over 
the needle to make a double one of it. That is all. Knit the required length, 
then knit the end the same as the beginning, only adding a button hole ; this is 
done by dividing the stitches and knitting up half, then dropping down the thread 
and knitting up the other half ; then knit six or eight times across and bind off. 

The two narrow strips which fasten to the buckle holding the suspender and 
also attached to the pants, can be made of leather or knit like the ends of the 
suspender, just as you choose. A pair of buckles taken from an old pair of 
suspenders will complete the Hst of materials ; fasten them properly and they 
are ready for use. 

To Knit Ra§^ Hittens. — Mittens are knit on wooden needles, size of 
circumference one-third less than a common lead pencil. Two only are re- 
quired, as the mittens are knit in several pieces, and afterward sewed together, 
to become complete. Half worn flannel rags are best for knitting. Tear in 
strips, one-half inch wide, or less if you can, lap the edges when sewing so as 
to leave them smooth. 





THE DIFFERENT PARTS OF A KNIT MITTEN. 



To Knit tlie Thumb. — Commencing at side of the piece (fig. 31, cast 
on one stitch, knit, cast on another stitch, knit the two, cast on another stitch, 
knit the three. The stitch first made being in the middle, the new ones on 
either side. 

Now cast on five stitches, knit back, making another stitch at the opposite end. 



KNIT ARTICLES. 639 

(In making new stitches they must always be cast on the outer edge, so as to be 
the first ones knit, when returning back and forth.) Knit back and forth, mak- 
ing a new stitch at each end, until two have been cast on, at the point of the 
thumb, always making a new stitch when reaching the lower part of the thumb 
piece, until the thumb piece is half done. 

Knit back and forth once, without making a stitch at the upper point, then 
back and forth again, until the two have been bound off, one at each time, reach- 
ing the upper point. The thumb piece will then be half done. 

Bind off one stitch at a time, as the knitting proceeds at the lower point, 
instead of making new ones, as was done in directions for first half ; proceed 
with upper point of thumb the same as in given directions ; at the last bind off 
five stitches, leaving three for gusset ; knit, bind off one on either side, leaving 
one for the last ; draw the last stitch, and the thumb is completed. 




SHAPE OF THE KNIT MITTEN WHEN COMPLETED. 



For the hand part (fig. i) cast on twenty-four stitches, knit back and forth, 
making a new stitch every time the upper part of the hand is reached, until four 
stitches have been added, then knit across four times without widening. Con- 
tinue the knitting until the four stitches have been bound off, when half the hand 
part will be done. 

Knit the other half; bind off; sew the hand part by doubling the halves to- 
gether. After the thumb pieces have been sewed together, insert the gussets 
about half way in the open space of the hand part, letting the lower part of the 
thumb point extend down to the wrist. 

For the wrist (fig. 2) cast on eight stitches ; knit a plain strip long enough 
to reach around the lower part of the mitten. Or a wrist can be crocheted on. 

A Knitted Cape. — Use three-ply fleecy wool, and number twelve needles. 
Put on thirty-five stitches ; knit eight times across straight, then thirty-six times 
across, increasing one stitch on one end each row. Decrease one stitch for 
twenty-one rows on the straight side to form the back part of the neck, still in- 
creasing on the other side. Then knit twelve turns quite straight — the center 
of these twelve turns is the center of the pelerine, and the other side must be 
knitted inreverse. 



640 TO MAKE A PIN BALL. 

TO MAKE A PIN BALL. 



Material Required. — A lady correspondent has furnished me with her 
style of making a very pretty and convenient article for the home. The mate- 
rial required is one-fourth yard each scarlet merino and white muslin, one ounce 
scarlet Berlin wool, bran or sawdust for stuffing, bone crochet needle, darning 
needle, and a small sheet of pasteboard. 




FIG. I. — PIN BALL PATTERN. 



Cutting* and Shaping. — Cut of muslin five pieces shape of fig. i , seven 
inches long and two and a half inches wide. Baste very neat, even seams, 
and stitch on sewing machine, leaving an opening of two inches in one seam. 
Turn right side out and stuff very compactly with bran or sawdust. Then close 
the opening with over and over stitches. 

Cut of merino five pieces same as before, seam with scarlet spool silk, leaving 
one seam entirely open. Then draw the merino cover over the muslin form, 
close up the open seam with scarlet silk and fasten the merino cover firmly and 
neatly at the pointed ends. Then crochet a long chain of Berlin wool ; with 
scarlet silk sew it (with false stitches) from the points passing over every seam. 
This holds the cover firmly and gives a finished appearance. 




FIG. 2. — PIN BALL TASSEL BOARD. 



To make Tassels. — Cut twelve circles of pasteboard the size of fig. 2 ; 
out of each cut a smaller circle as represented. Then having placed a long 



BUTTER AND CHEESE MAKING. 641 

double thread of the Berlin wool in your darning needle, hold two circles of the 
pasteboard together with your thumb and forefinger and pass your threaded 
needle over and under, winding until the smaller circle is completely filled. 

When you have filled the twelve circles in this manner (using two each time), 
crochet another long chain of the Berlin wool ; thirty-six inches is long enough. 
Then with a pair of sharp pointed scissors cut around the outer edge of one of 
the covered circles, passing one end of the chain in between as you cut, and 
tying it firmly when the circle is cut all around. 

Draw out the pasteboard by tearing carefully, and you will have a handsome 
tassel. Trim a little, if necessary, for smoothness. Arrange a tassel on the 
other end of the chain in the same manner. Then leaving a length of six inches, 
fasten chain at pointed ends of ball. 

Crochet another chain fourteen inches long and make a tassel for each end 
as before ; fasten this immediately in the center of first chain at the top where 
you design hanging it up. Then crochet two shorter chains, each six inches 
long, make a tassel of your two remaining circles and attach one to each of the 
pointed ends. Your ball is now complete. 

Rickrack I>aisy Cuskion Cover. — Rickrack daisies are exceedingly 
pretty and are made of the medium fine braid, laid in a circle as large as you 
wish the circumference of the daisy, and its center is then crocheted of gold 
silk ; row after row of short stitches until the space is filled. 

Sew the daisies together in square or diamond shape, and lay over the top of 
a blue satin cushion, adding a large satin bow at each corner. 



BUTTER AND CHEESE MAKING. 



Manag'ement of Milk. — The importance of a cool, sweet, airy place for 
keeping milk is not generally realized by housewives. Milk and cream will ab- 
sorb odors from the bad air that abounds ; so the first principle in butter mak- 
ing is to have a part of the milk room in a current of air, and in the coolest lo- 
cation which the house affords. Even when the situation is all that can be 
desired, unless the dairy woman skims the milk at exactly the right time, and 
keeps the pans and milk pail as sweet as roses, she will fail to produce " gilt- 
edged butter." 

If the milk stands in the pans until the small spots appear on the surface of 
the cream, good butter cannot be made. Cream taken from milk just before it 
turns to clabber, makes the sweetest and most deliciously flavored butter. Skim 
the cream whenever the milk has turned acid, whether it takes twenty-four, or 
thirty-six, or forty-eight hours to make it so. 



642 BUTTER AND CHEESE MAKING. 

Manag'eineiit of Cream. — As the cream is removed, put it into stone 
jars and add to it one tablespoonful of fine salt, and after skimming stir up the 
whole contents with a silver spoon. A much better quality of butter is made 
from cream which has been kept in the jar not more than three days ; and when 
one possesses a large enough dairy to churn the cream every morning, the but- 
ter is always preferable. 

Cream that is kept too long can never make a respectable quality of butter, 
for it possesses a flavor which no one accustomed to a good article can endure. 
A strong current of air should never pass directly over the cream, as it turns it 
mto a tough, skinny substance, which cannot make a good article. 

It should be kept at a temperature not above 65 degrees, nor below 50 de- 
grees, and frequently stirred — say night and morning, or every time additions 
are made to it — and the vessel containing it should always remain open to allow 
perfect ventilation. By no means must it be allowed to dry or mold on the sur- 
face, nor must it get too sour. 

Cleiiriiiiig Sutter. — During the process of churning, not only a certain 
uniformity of temperature is recommended to prevent the butter being soft and 
spongy, but, it is claimed, the agitation of the cream must be regular, neither 
too quick nor too slow. 

If the agitation is too quick, the butter will make and unmake itself before 
the churner is aware of it, as too rapid motion induces fermentation, which, 
when it has reached a certain point, is entirely destructive of anything like the 
possibility of making even moderately good or well tasting butter. 

If, on the other hand, the motion be too slow, the agitators in the churn fail 
to produce the desired separation of the component parts of the cream, and the 
consequence is, that after a good deal of time spent in lazy action, the churner 
is just as far from his butter as he was at the beginning of his labors. 

The temperature for the cream in churning should be from fifty to sixty de- 
grees ; fifty-six to fifty-eight are best. If the cream is too warm when put into 
the churn, it may be tempered by the use of cold water in the cream. This 
practice does not in the least extend the time of churning; but if the cream be 
quite thick, it favors the agitation and facilitates the operation. 

Much of the bad flavor of butter proceeds from the neglect to properly cleanse 
the churn, pans or other utensils used, from the sour milk. Sometimes churns 
become so saturated with it that sweet butter cannot be made in them. A 
wooden churn should frequently be filled with lime water or weak lye to sweeten 
it and eradicate the bad odors that have become absorbed into it, or left in s(5me 
crack of the churn or dash. 

Working Butter. — In working butter temperature is an important thing. 
There is also danger in overworking. If worked too much, or at a temperature 
much above 65 degrees Far., it spoils the grain and makes the butter waxy and 
greasy. The object of working is to free it from buttermilk, and afterward mix 



BUTTER AND CHEESE MAKING. 643 

in the salt. The knack is to get out the buttermilk with the least working — or 
the least injury to the butter globules. 

Wasbing- Butter. — There is a good deal of dispute regarding the propriety 
of washing butter. A lump of butter entirely made of unbroken globules can 
be freed from sugar and casein by washing. Water easily penetrates into the 
granular, ungreasy mass ; the fermentative agents are removed ; the butter will 
not spoil. This does not happen after hard churning, because churns break 
the globules more or less by heat friction or stroke. 

When a broken globule sheds its contents, the butter, being minutely divided 
in a liquid state, absorbs or combines with atoms of sugar and casein which are 
in solution, and therefore minutely distributed. No washing is able to disin- 
tegrate atomic agglomerations within a greasy substance ; water runs off from 
it ; in such a case carrying away coarse membranes and flavor of the butter. 

Keeping' Hutter. — After the butter is worked free from buttermilk, it 
should be salted to taste — it is generally oversalted — and balled or packed at 
once, accordmg to the use to be made of it. If packed, a good way is to put 
it into a clean, glazed jar, and cover with a brine made from rock salt. 

Never put balled butter in a close place where other eatables are kept, 
especially if they are warm. Equally deleterious as to results is the practice of 
putting a plate that has been used for culinary purposes — until it has absorbed 
stale odors — over a crock or tub containing butter. 

The best and safest covers are clean muslin cloths. Place the packages con- 
taining butter where the air comes fresh from all outdoors through raised 
windows. 

Double Curded. Cliee§e. — One general system is adopted by all in the 
manufacture of cheese, yet there is variation enough, in what might appear un- 
essential parts, to widely vary the quality of the production. It has always 
been considered an easy matter to make a good single curded cheese from 
sweet new milk, but somewhat difficult to manufacture a first class article from 
two curds. The trouble has arisen from failing to get the old and new curds 
so worked together as to make the cheese of even texture, and pleasant flavor. 

Having had a number of years experience in manufacturing double curded 
cheese, and having succeeded in making an article that brought the highest 
market price of any produced in the United States, I give my method of making : 

To Work in the Cream. — The milk is set in the vat and kept cool 
during the night, and the cream taken off in the morning, to which is added 
enough warm water to thin it sufficiently to pass through the milk strainer, and 
returned to the vat before the morning's milk is put in. Hot water should never 
be used to thin the cream, for it will melt the cream and the oil will pass off 
with the whey. 

Heat in Cheese Making. — The milk is heated to 85° by the therm om- 
ter (never guess at it), and enough rennet put in to coagulate the milk in thirty 



644 BUTTER AND CHEESE MAKING. 

minutes. The curd is cut and allowed to stand until the whey rises up 
around the sides of the vat, and spreads over the surface, then the heat is 
gradually increased, and the whey carefully worked off until the thermometer 
denotes 105°. 

Mana§^ing Claeese Curd. — The scalding is continued without further 
increase of heat until the curd is worked up fine, and the pieces will not show 
a milky appearance when broken open. Care is always taken when working 
the curd not to handle it severely enough to change the whey from a clear trans- 
parent green to a milky color. 

After the curd is sufficiently scalded, all of the whey is drawn off, and the 
curd worked up until cool, dry, and the particles as fine as wheat kernels ; then 
a common sized teacup full of salt is put into every fifteen pounds of curd. 

The curd is kept until the next morning in a wooden bowl, covered with a 
cloth, and stirred once or twice during the time to keep it from packing. After 
the second curd has been prepared as the first, and ready to take from the vat, 
the two are thoroughly rrtixed and put into the press. 

Ho\^ to Press a Clieese. — Very many cheeses are spoiled by wrong 
management when pressing ; the weight should be put on lightly at first, and 
gradually increased until all the whey is out, then any amount of weight will do 
no harm. 

If a heavy pressure is put upon the curd when first put in, the whey is forced 
to the center, a rind formed on the exterior, and the consequence is a leaky 
cheese. After being pressed from four to six hours, the cap is put on, the cheese 
turned, and kept in until the press is wanted for the next curd. 

Curings Cheese. — As soon as the cheese is taken from the press it is 
placed where a current of air cannot strike it, for if the wind is allowed to blow 
upon it but for a few moments fine checks will appear in the rind, giving the 
skipper fly a chance to make her deposits. 

As soon as the cap head is sewed or pasted on, the cheese is greased thor- 
oughly with hot lard or whey butter, containing enough yellow ocher to give it 
a rich color. All of the cheeses in the dairy house are rubbed and turned daily, 
and greased as often as they appear to require it. See page 343. 

JSkiminecl Hilk Clieese. — A model housewife furnishes the author of 
this work with the following on making skimmed milk cheese : " My plan is to 
make cheese and butter, both. I wait until I gather about thirty panfuls of 
milk. These I skim, then turn the milk into my large brass kettle over our fur- 
nace, and add one batch of new milk fresh from the cows. I then heat all 
slowly, stirring often so that the milk may not scorch on the bottom of the kettle, 
which it is very liable to do unless cared for. 

" When the milk is a little more than blood warm, I remove the fire from under 
the kettle. Set the milk with rennet— using usually about one and one-half 
teacupful of the liquid. 



BUTTER AND CHEESE MAKING. 645 

Preparing Rennet. — " When I put my rennet to soak, which should be 
done several days before it is wanted for use, I add one large double handful of 
sage leaves with warm water, about one quart of water to one rennet. 

Extracting Whey. — " After the rennet is added, stir the milk gently for 
five minutes, then let it stand until the whey rises on top of the curd fully an 
inch deep. I then take a long, thin bladed knife, one which reaches to the bot- 
tom of the curd, and cut it in thin slices about an inch square, after this I let it 
rest ten or fifteen minutes, then break the curd gently with the hands. 

" The breaking up causes the whey to rise to the top, and this must be dipped 
off and put on the stove to heat, and when all the whey has been subtracted 
from the curd — which can be done by spreading a thin cloth over the curd and 
dipping off the whey as it is pressed through — the whey which has been heated 
only to a scalding heat can be poured over the curd and stirred with the hand, 
until all parts are of the same temperature. 

Scalding Clieese Curd. — " The great secret in having skimmed milk 
cheese soft and yielding is to not scald too much. I merely heat mine enough 
to harden the curd, so it will not fall to pieces when taken up in the hand. 

" The next move is to prepare the cheese basket by placing the strainer over 
it, and putting the -basket over a tub or barrel, and to dip the curd, whey and all 
into the basket, where it must be broken or cut very fine, salted and then put 
into the hoop for pressing. 

(Simple Cheese Press. — " Our press is a very simple affair. Merely a 
small keg covered with a board on which the cheese hoop sets. Directly over the 
center of the follower an upright standard is nailed to some stationary object 
above. Then some blocks are placed over the cross piece of the follower, and 
a long lever with a heavy weight attached to the further end is placed between 
the upright standard and the blocks or top of the follower. See page 454. 

" Great care must be taken to get the cheese under exactly in the center, so it 
will press true. It should be turned in about half an hour after being put to 
press, then turned again in six hours. I use only one strainer to press with ; 
this is removed when the cheese is first turned, and the cheese put back into the 
hoop without a cloth around it. Our implements used in making cheese are all 
home-made excepting the hoop, which is made of tin." 

Keeping Cheese after Cutting. — " A cheese after being cut keeps 
best by placing in a wooden box with wire screens placed in the sides and over 
the top, thus keeping out all foreign substances but not excluding the air. A 
damp cloth spread over the surface where it has been cut will keep the cheese 
from drying, and no fears need be entertained about mold penetrating the inter- 
stices. By all means do not roll up the cheese in cloths and keep it from a 
circulation of air, if you wish to retain its flavor and have it improve with age." 

To Make Tul> Cheese. — " First prepare the curd the same as for mak- 
ing hoop cheese, then place it in a jar or tub of the required size, as solid as 



646 SMALL ICE STORAGE. 

may be with a follower to fit closely, and put a heavy weight thereon with cloth 
to receive the moisture, which should be changed as often as saturated. 

"Each day's curd being thus managed until the tub is filled. Then take the 
whole mass from the tub into a cheese tub, and completely pulverize, adding 
more salt if necessary, thoroughly cleansing the tub and replacing the curd by 
pounding in as before, using the cloth as at first until dry, then butter the top, 
and filling in about the cheese as it dries with melted butter, covering the whole 
with a thin cloth tied over the top of the tub, and it is done." 



SMALL ICE STORAGE. 



Cheap Ice Chest. — There are numerous and very cheap methods of 
keeping small quantities of ice in the house. Where one does not own a refrig- 
erator a good substitute may be made in the way of a cheap ice chest. 

Procure two dry goods boxes, one about eight inches smaller than the other. 
Procure some thoroughly dry and clean sawdust, sift it and pack the space be- 
tween the boxes therewith as solid as possible ; making a cover (and packing it 
also) to shut tightly ; put a small pipe from the bottom of the inner box to the 
outside of the outer one, to draw off the water as the ice melts. 

On the inside box nail cleats on which to place racks made of lath. The ice 
is placed at the bottom, and whatever you wish to keep cool, such as butter, 
fresh meat, cream, etc., placed upon the racks. Such a box is also excellent to 
keep articles of food in, when there is no ice in it. 

This box can be improved by putting in a zinc lining — old zinc will do — and 
by nailing legs to the outside corners so as to keep it from the floor a few 
inches. Bricks or blocks will answer also. Such a box will keep ice as well as 
a refrigerator that costs twenty-five dollars. 

An Ice Pocket. — Make a double pocket of strong woolen cloth, no mat- 
ter how coarse and faded it is. Have a space of two inches or so between the 
inner and outer pockets, and pack this space as full as possible with feathers. 
You have no need to use geese feathers ; hens' feathers are just as good. 

With a pocket thus constructed and kept tightly closed at the mouth, a few 
pounds of ice may be kept a week, it is said. This may often be convenient 
where ice is to be kept for a sick room. 

Keeping Ice in a ^Blanket. — Wrap a block of ice in a blanket and 
hang it where there is but little, if any movement of the air. The ice will melt 
very slowly ; in part, because the blanket is a poor conductor of heat, but 
chiefly because the water produced by the melting of the ice is largely or wholly 
evaporated from the outer folds of the blanket, and in vaporizing absorbs so 



DISINFECTANTS. 647 

much of the heat received from the surrounding air that the temperature of the 
ice is kept low. 

The inner folds of the blanket will be frozen to the ice ; the ice will remain 
dry and will seem to evaporate rather than melt. 

Cbeap Ice Pitcher. — Place between two sheets of paper (newspaper 
will answer, thick brown is better), a layer of cotton batting about half an inch 
in thickness, fasten the ends of paper and batting together, forming a circle, 
then sew or paste a crown over one end, making a box the shape of a stove pipe 
hat minus the rim. Place this over an ordinary pitcher filled with ice water, 
making it deep enough to rest on the table, so as to exclude the air, and you 
will be astonished at the length of time the ice will keep, and at the length of 
time the water will remain cold after the ice has entirely disappeared. 



DISINFECTANTS. 



Bad Odors and Disease. — There is no means more certain to bring 
disease upon the members of a household, than by allowing infectious matter 
to remain upon the premises. The offensive odors that arise from close, damp 
places, decaying vegetables in a cellar, unclean sinks, etc., are almost certain to 
engender some malignant disease, and those who neglect the proper use of dis- 
infectants are the ones who suffer the penalty attached to the violation of an im- 
perative, sanitary law. 

To Disinfect Sinks and Drains. — Copperas dissolved in water, one- 
fourth of a pound to a gallon, and poured into a sink and water drain occa- 
sionally, will keep such places sweet and wholesome. A little chloride of lime, 
say half a pound to a gallon of water, will have the same effect, and either of 
these costs but a trifle. 

A preparation may be made at home which will answer about as well as the 
chloride of lime. Dissolve a bushel of salt in a barrel of water, and with the salt 
water slake a barrel of lime, which should be made wet enough to form a thin 
paste or wash. 

To Disinfect a Cellar, — A damp, musty cellar may be sweetened by 
sprinkling upon the floor pulverized copperas, chloride of lime, or even common 
lime. The most effective means I have ever used to disinfect decaying vege- 
table matter is chloride of lime in solution. One pound may be dissolved in two 
gallons of water. Plaster of Paris has also been found an excellent absorbent 
of noxious odors. If used one part with three parts of charcoal it will be found 
still better. 

To Disinfect a Cistern. — To purify cistern water, take a pound or two 
— according to the amount of water — of caustic soda or a similar quantity of 



648 DOMESTIC MISCELLANY. 

concentrated lye, and put the same into the cistern ; this will disinfect the stag- 
nant water, and cost nothing compared to the benefits derived. When using 
the concentrated lye dissolve it in warm water, and then pour it into the cis- 
tern, at the same time agitating the water of the reservoir. 

To Remove tlie Smell of Petroleum. — Professor Stolba publishes 
what he considers the best method of completely removing from glass or other 
vessels the smell of any petroleum which may have been previously contained 
in them. This simply consists in introducing a suitable quantity of milk of 
lime and shaking it around thoroughly, and after allowing it to stand for a few 
minutes, repeating the operation. At the same time the external surface of 
the vessel is to be washed with a rag dipped in the same substance. Petro- 
leum forms an emulsion with the milk of lime, and can thus be readily re- 
moved. If particles of thickened petroleum adhere to the glass, these can be 
removed by washing with fine sand, or by other mechanical means. 

After emptying out the emulsion produced, it is only necessary to rinse with 
water, after which as much chloride of lime as will go on the point of a knife is 
to be introduced and shaken with water, and then allowed to stand about an 
hour, the exterior being rinsed off in a similar manner. If the liquids referred 
to are used hot, this operation will be materially facilitated. 

To Deodorize Onion K.ettles. — Kettles may be cleansed of onion and 
other odors by dissolving a teaspoonful of pearlash or saleratus in water and 
washing them with the liquid. 



DOMESTIC MISCELLANY. 



Cleaning Sofa Covers. — If the covers of sofas and chairs are dirty, they 
may be cleansed without being removed, by first washing them over with a 
flannel, then, before they are dry, sponge them over with a strong solution of 
salt and water, in which a small quantity of gall has been mixed. The win- 
dows of the room should be opened so as to secure a perfect drying, and the 
colors and the freshness of the articles will in this way be restored. 

To Clean Straw Matting. — Take a pan half full of hot water, a per- 
fectly clean, long handled mop, and a dish of dry, unsifted Indian meal. Sweep 
all dust off the matting, then scatter the dry meal evenly over the room. Wrmg 
the mop so dry that it will not drip at all, and rub hard, one breadth at a time, 
always lengthwise of the straw, and use clean water for each breadth. When 
the matting is dry, the meal can be swept off easily ; it should always be done on 
a dry day. 

To SSrigliten Straw Matting. — Wash it in brine made by dissolving a 
pint of salt in a pail of water. It is said that the salt will keep the straw from 
turning yellow. 



DOMESTIC MISCELLANY. 649 

To Clean OilclotU. — Oilcloth requires careful treatment, ana should 
never be scrubbed with a hard brush and soap, but after first being swept with 
the long handled hair brushes that are made for the purpose, it should be care- 
fully washed. 

To ruin them, clean them with hot water or soap suds, and leave them half 
wiped, and they will look very bright while wet, and very dingy and dirty when 
dry, and soon crack and peel off. But if you wish to preserve them, and have 
them look new and nice, wash them with soft flannel and lukewarm water, and 
wipe them thoroughly dry. If you want them to look extra nice, after they are 
dry, drop a few spoonfuls of milk over them, and rub them with a small, dry 
cloth. 

Another good way is merely to be rubbed with a flannel, and polished with a 
brush of moderate hardness, exactly like a mahogany table, and by this simple 
means the fading of the colors, and the rotting of the canvas, which are inevit- 
ably attendant upon the oilcloth being kept in a state of moisture or dampness, 
are entirely avoided. 

They may also be cleaned with a mixture of magnesia only milkwarm, fol- 
lowed by warm water, in the same manner that carpets are cleansed. They 
should be rubbed with dry flannel until nearly dried, then wet over with a 
sponge dipped in milk, and immediately dried and rubbed with a flannel till 
the polish is restored. 

This is a process much to be preferred to that of rubbing the cloth with wax, 
which leaves it sticky and liable to retain dust and dirt for a long time. Very 
hot water should never be used in cleaning floor cloth, as it brings off the paint. 

To Cleanse IVool. — Put as much water in a tub or barrel as you want 
to use at one time ; add salt enough to make a weak brine ; then add to this a 
gallon or two of chamber lye ; then dissolve enough sal soda to make a good 
suds when stirred, soft water is best, and the whole should be warmed. 

Put in as much wool as your vessel will hold, and let it soak overnight ; wash 
it out, rinse in clean, warm water, and your wool will be clean and white. Tan- 
ners and glove makers will find this the very thing to clean the wool on lamb 
and sheep skins, for gloves and mittens. 

To Clean a Hoop SItirt. — When a hoop skirt is soiled, put it into a 
tub of hot suds, and rub it with a clean scrubbing brush or whisk broom. Rinse 
it and hang it in the sun. It will be whitened, but be a little stiffer than before. 

Mome-Made Stove SlaeRin^. — Black lead well mixed with white of 
egg is a good stove blacking. Lay on with a paint brush, and when dry polish 
with a hard brush. 

Mo'^v to Select Flour. — First, look at its color ; if it is white with a 
slightly yellowish or straw color tint, it is a good sign. If it is very white with 
a bluish cast, or with black specks in it, the flour is not good. Second, examine 
its adhesiveness — wet and knead a little of it between the fingers ; if it works 



650 DOMESTIC MISCELLANY. 

dry and elastic, it is good ; if it works soft and sticky, it is poor. Third, throw 
a lump of dry flour against a dry, smooth, perpendicular surface ; if it adheres 
in a lump, the flour has life in it ; if it falls like powder, it is bad. Fourth^ 
squeeze some of the flour in your hand ; if it retains the shape given by the 
pressure, that too is a good sign. Flour that will stand all these tests is safe to 
buy. 

How to Select a Broom. — In buying a broom, choose one with 
greenish brush. See that the broom head does not shake on the handle ; if it 
does, reject it ; for the handle having been green when the broom was made, in 
sweeping the brush will keep falling out. Next, open the broom below the sew- 
ing, and see if there are any stalks. It should be clear brush ; for as the stalk 
of broom corn is brittle, if there are any below the twine, they will be continu- 
ally breaking off. 

To Hang a Broom. — Take a large ring, such as one uses in the back 
of a picture frame, costing about one cent, and screw it into the end of the 
broom handle ; then drive a lath or shingle nail, or what is better, a small 
hook, where you wish to hang your broom. 

Management of Brooms. — If brooms are wet in boihng suds, once a 
week, they will become very tough, will not cut the carpet, last much longer 
and always sweep like a new broom. 

Do not keep a broom before the fire ; the brush is liable to break, being so 
dry. The dampening lengthens out its days of usefulness. Do not store 
brooms where there are rats and mice, they like the corn. A broom that is all 
out of shape may be restored by soaking, then pressing into shape beneath 
something heavy. 

Broom for Carpet Cleaning. — Set a pail of cold water out by the 
door, wet the broom in it, knock it to get off all the drops, sweep a yard or so, 
then wash the broom as before and sweep again, being careful to shake all the 
drops off the broom, and not sweep far at a time. If done with care it will 
clean a carpet very nicely, and you will be surprised at the quantity of dirt in the 
water. The water may need changing once or twice, if the carpet is very dusty. 

Color for Kitchen Walls. — There is a prevailing fault existing in the 
selection of colors for kitchens, they being almost always dark, when they should 
be light, airy and cheerful. A light gray, or stone color, is desirable. 

The use of yellow ocher in coloring the walls of rooms is condemned by the 
Builder, The occupants of such apartments, it says, invariably complain of 
pain in the forehead and eyes, often being unable to work. When the walls are 
cleaned of the ocher and whitewashed these ailments entirely disappear. 

Ho^v to Liglit a Fire. — All housekeepers have at some time realized 
the difficulty of .lighting a fire in a still, damp morning, when the chimney will 
not draw, and vigorous blowing proves ineffectual. 

Science explains the trouble as " caused by the difficulty encountered in over- 



DOMESTIC MISCELLANY. 6$! 

coming the inertia of the long column of air in the pipe or chimney by the small 
column of air that can be forced up through the interstices of wood and coal, 
at the bottom of which the fire is kindled." 

This may be remedied by first lighting a few bits of shavings or paper placed 
upon the wood ; thus, by the heated air forcing itself into the chimney and estab- 
lishing there an upward current, the room is kept free from the gas or smoke 
which is so apt to fill the room, and the fire can then be lighted from below with 
good success. 

Kitclieii Measureinent§. — One quart of wheat flour is one pound. 

One quart of corn meal weighs eighteen ounces. 

One quart of butter, soft, weighs fourteen to sixteen ounces. 

One quart of brown sugar weighs from a pound to a pound and a quarter^ 
according to dampness. 

One quart of white sugar weighs one pound. 

Ten medium sized eggs weigh one pound. 

A tablespoonful of salt is one ounce. 

Eight tablespoonfuls make a gill. 

Two gills, or sixteen tablespoonfuls, are half a pint. 

Sixty drops are one teaspoonful. 

Four tablespoonfuls are one wineglassful. 

Twelve tablespoonfuls are one teacupful. 

Sixteen tablespoonfuls, or half a pint, are one tumblerful. 

To Curl Hair. — Take two ounces of borax, one dram of powdered gum 
Senegal, one quart of hot water (not boiling), mix, and as soon as the ingredients 
are dissolved, add two ounces of alcohol strongly impregnated with camphor; 
on retiring to rest, wet the hair with the above mixture and roll it in paper 
as usual ; leave them until morning, when untwist and form into ringlets. 

To Restore ^Broken J8ranclie§. — Often plants get broken and hang 
by a thread of bark. Raise the branch gently and place it in perfect contact 
with the original place ; wind around and cross over a slip of adhesive plaster — 
cut about one quarter of an inch wide. Press it neatly and closely to keep out 
the air. The heat of the hand will be sufficient to make it stick. 

To Drive Away Blaek Ants. — Dissolve five cents' worth of tartar 
emetic in a tablespoonful of water and add a teaspoonful of sugar. Set the 
mixture in an open, shallow dish where ants are troublesome. 

How to Make Mce Candles. — Melt together ten ounces of mutton 
tallow, quarter of an ounce of camphor, four ounces of beeswax, and two ounces 
of alum ; then dip or mold them as usual. Candles thus manufactured furnish 
a most beautiful light, it is said. 

To Wash Hair Brushes. — Fill a pan with hot water, with a piece of 
soda dissolved in it — say a quarter of an ounce to half a gallon of water. 
Comb the loose hair out of the brushes ; take one brush at a time by the handle. 



652 DOMESTIC MISCELLANY. 

and dip it in the water without wetting the back of the brush. It must be dip- 
ped several times. Then rinse in cold water, and put near the fire or in the open 
air till dry. 

Another good way is to dip them two or three times in a pint of warm water, 
to which has been added less than a teaspoonful of spirits of ammonia. Rinse 
immediately in clear water, and dry about the stove. Saleratus water answers 
a very good purpose likewise. 

To Hake a Feather E>ru§]i. — Select even and pretty feathers, string 
them with a needle and fine strong twine through the stem at the base of the 
feathered part above the bare quill ; then hammer the quills flat so as to make 
them lie close to the handle. Wet the handle with strong glue, secure one end 
of the string and wind the strung feathers around and around the stick until the 
brush reaches the required size. 

As you wind, bind the stems close to the stick with twine, and in finishing the 
last row, bind them tightly and evenly by winding the twine on the outside over 
all the quills. Meanwhile keep the quills wet with glue that the brush may be 
firm when dry. 

The twine is then neatly covered by a cap of enameled cloth, or you may use 
morocco or any fancy leather, with the edge pinked of any required size. Sew 
the edges firmly and secure it to its place with glue. 

The Kitchen Sink. — Have your sink in a convenient place, but never 
under a window if you can avoid it, as much work is caused by greasy dishwater 
spattering upon the window, as it necessarily must. Back of your sink nail up 
a piece of varnished paper, and then yoil can with a wet cloth remove all spots 
that would soon spoil room paper. 

To Protect Rose Bushes. — To three gallons of soft water add one 
peck of soot and one quart of unslaked lime ; stir it well, let it stand for 
twenty-four hours, and when the soot rises to the surface, skim it off. Use a 
syringe for applying it. This wash entirely removes small green vermin so com- 
monly infesting rose bushes. 

To Make a SAveeping Cap. — For the pattern of this cap, cut of paper 
a complete circle, the diameter of which is twenty-one inches. Double this 
paper by creasing through the center, and trim one inch off the side. This will 
make the cap when cut, shorter by two inches from side to side, than it is from 
back to front. 

For the material of the cap get five-eighths of a yard of light blue, pink or 
green Chambery ; cut by the pattern, turn the edge under by a narrow hem, 
and then upon the right side of the goods, one inch and a quarter from the edge, 
stitch a narrow bias band of Lonsdale cambric entirely around the cap. This 
is designed to hold the rubber cord which draws the cap into shape and size to 
fit the head. The edge may be prettily finished by sewing on a narrow cotton 
trimming or lace, or it can be bound with the cambric instead. 



DOMESTIC MISCELLANY. 655 

After inserting a rubber cord between the bias band and Chambery and 
drawing it to the size of the head, the cap is completed by placing a tiny bow 
of ribbon upon the left side in front, and another with streamers on the back. 
The bows may be made of the same goods and bound with cambric, if it is 
preferred. 

The cap is worn with the longer diameter from back to front, and when 
shaped by deft fingers looks not unlike the fashionable '• Normandy Cap." Pink 
bows are pretty on light green caps and light blue upon pink. 

How to Peel Peaclie§ Rapidly. — Take a kettle of very strong lye, 
and heat to boiling ; take a wire cage, similar to corn popper — fill it with peaches 
and dip into the lye for a moment — then into cold water. With a coarse towel 
wipe each peach, and the rind will peel off smoothly ; then drop into fresh cold 
water, and the operation is complete, leaving no trace of the lye. 

Potato Vinegar. — Take quite a quantity of common Irish potatoes, and 
wash them until they are thoroughly clean ; then place them in a large vessel, 
and boil them until done. Now drain off carefully the water that they have 
been cooked in, straining it if necessary, in order to remove every particle of the 
potato. 

Put this potato water into a jug or keg, which place near the stove or in some 
place where it will be kept warm, and add one pound of sugar to about two and 
one half gallons of the water, some hop yeast, or a small portion of whisky. 
Prepared in this way, and letting it stand three or four weeks, you will have 
most excellent vinegar. Water may be saved when boiling potatoes for the 
table, if the vegetables are scarce. 

Blackberry Wine. — Measure your berries and bruise them ; to every 
gallon adding one quart of boiling water. Let the mixture stand twenty-four 
hours, stirring occasionally ; then strain off the liquor into a cask, to every gal- 
lon adding two pounds of sugar, cork tight, and let it stand to the following 
October, and you will have wine ready for use, without further straining or 
boiliijg. 

To Pickle Meat in One Day. — Get a tub nearly full of rain or river 
water, and put two pieces of thin wood across it and set the beef on them, dis- 
tant about an inch from the water. Heap as much salt as will stand on your 
beef and let it remain twenty-four hours ; then take the meat off and boil it, and 
you will find it as salt as if it had been in pickle for six weeks, the water having 
drawn the salt completely through the beef. 

How to Can Corn. — Take the sweet or evergreen corn before it gets 
too old, cut it from the cob, fill the cans full, pressed down. Then take a boiler, 
lay some sticks in the bottom for cans to set on ; then lay the covers of the cans 
on loose, fill the boiler with water so that it will cover half way up the sides of 
the cans, put the cover on the boiler, boil for three hours briskly, take out and 
press the covers on tight. Will keep well and have all the flavor of green corn. 



654 DOMESTIC MISCELLANY. 

Another Way. — Boil the corn fifteen minutes on the cob and then cut it 
off and dry in the sun. The corn should then be seasoned to the taste with salt, 
and put into the cans with a very little water. The covers must then be placed 
on the cans, leaving only a very small aperture for the escape of gas ; then 
place the cans in a kettle of water and boil slowly three quarters of an hour, 
when the can may be sealed with a drop of solder or even a little putty. Corn 
preserved in this way will always keep as long as it is necessary to keep it, and 
there is no danger of bursting the cans. 

Fruit Canning. — Porcelain lined vessels are best for cooking the fruit, 
but many use a bright tin pan or pail, and for sweet fruit brass can be used 
without detriment. It is a good practice to put a wash boiler, containing a pail- 
ful of water, over the fire, and after filling the jars with fruit, scald it by stand- 
ing them in the boiling water. Seal while boiling hot. 

To prepare the fruit for the cans heat a kettle of water to boiling, set over it 
a bright tin pan containing the fruit, cover it close, and let it thoroughly scald. 
This requires more time than to set the pan directly upon the stove, but all 
danger of burning is avoided, and the fruit kept unbroken. At least, it is kept 
as nearly unbroken as can be expected of ripe fruit after cooking. 

Fruit should be nearly or quite ripe. It is not best to risk a great deal for 
the mere looks of the sauce when set upon the table. Those who wish their 
canned peaches, pears, quinces, etc., to look "just like fresh," must can them 
half ripe. Plenty of such specimens are sent out yearly from some of the large 
establishments — very beautiful to look upon, but not at all wholesome for food. 

To Preserve Citron. — Peel the citron, take out the seeds, then cut into 
quarters and put in a preserving kettle, and add some water, cover tight, and 
boil until you can thrust a straw easily through them ; then skim out carefully, 
so as not to break them. To one pound of citron use three quarters of a pound 
of sugar, of the best white, adding lemon as you prefer, removing the seed, or 
they will render the whole batch bitter. 

Add the sugar to the liquor you boil the citron in ; boil to a nice sirup ; add 
the citron a little at a time ; when done, skim out, keep doing so until all are 
cooked ; add your lemons, cook a few minutes more, and pour over your citron. 

To Preserve Quinces. — Peel, quarter and core ; boil until tender ; skim 
out, and do not use the liquor they are boiled in, but use it for jelly ; also the 
peels and cores. Make a sirup of the sugar, using pound for pound ; add the 
quinces, a few at a time ; boil until done ; ■ pour this sirup over the quinces. 
Make the juice jelly the usual way. 

Present Use Pickles. — For cucumbers, the best mode I have ever found 
is to soak them in a brine made of one quart of salt to one gallon of water, for 
twenty-four hours, then put them into a brass or copper kettle, cover with alum 
water, and scald up nearly to a boiling heat, and then take them out and wipe 
dry. 



DOMESTIC MISCELLANY. 655 

The amount of alum used should be a lump the size of a hickory nut to four 
quarts of water. After scalding and wiping pack in a stone crock and heat 
vinegar enough to cover them and pour on boiling hot. 

The pickles are made much better by seasoning the vinegar with spice and 
sugar. Before heating it up add to each gallon one teacupful of sugar and one 
half ounce each of allspice and cloves, ground and tied up in a cloth. If spices 
are put in loose they will stick to the pickles and cause them to be spotted. 

I have used in place of the spice, a root of horse radish, which answers a good 
purpose, and gives a flavor which many relish. If it is desired to have the pickles 
of a dark green color, put a few leaves from the grape or cucumber vine into the 
alum water when scalding. 

Large sized cucumbers — not ripe — may be made good for immediate use by 
cutting them lengthwise into four parts, scald them in salt water, then rinse in 
boiling fresh water, let them drain awhile, then pack in a crock and add the hot 
spice vinegar made as for others. 

halting Cucwmtoers for Piclkles.— Where a large amount of cucum- 
bers are to be preserved, the best way is to pack in dry salt. Pick from the 
vines, cutting the stem half an inch or more long, and do not wipe with a cloth, 
but clean if they require it by rinsing carefully in water. 

Pack closely, but not so as to mar the rind ; fill all the interstices with salt. 
Cover with three or four thicknesses of cloth ; put on a plank follower with a 
stone weight upon it. Every time a new lot is added rinse the scum from the 
cloth, and as much oftener as it collects in any noticeable quantity. A portion 
may be taken out any time, and after freshening, scald in alum water and pro- 
ceed as in mode given for present use pickles. 

To Pickle Peaclie§ antl Pear§. — To pickle peaches wipe the fuzz all 
off with a cloth ; put into a crock and put on spiced vinegar hot, but use twice 
or three times as much sugar as for cucumbers. Pour off the vinegar after a few 
days, heat and return it ; repeat this two or three times, and the fruit will be 
made excellent. 

Some people stick cloves into the peaches before packing them, but I do not 
think they are very much beautified by the operation, and if spicing is the object 
any one can use as much as they choose in the vinegar. 

Treat pears in the same way, only they should be put through the softening 
process before packing. Steam them until they can be easily pierced by a 
straw, and handle carefully. A large spoon will be found better than a fork 
for transporting them from steamer to crock. A little cinnamon added to the 
spice bag is a benefit. 

Sugar and Salt for Pickles. — Sugar in pickles of any kind is a 
great benefit ; it not only gives a rich taste to the fruit, but it invigorates the 
vinegar and sustains its life. Salt is of no benefit to any fruit or vegetable to be 
made into pickles, save those like the cucumber or watermelon, composed of 



656 DOMESTIC MISCELLANY. 

ninety per cent, water. The salt draws out the water and puts them in proper 
condition for the vinegar. 

If the water is not extracted by this means, the vinegar will absorb it, and 
become greatly diluted, and the pickles will not be first quality. For this reason 
cucumbers for long keeping should be put down in dry salt ; plenty of brine 
will be made by the juice of the vegetable. 

How to Carve. — Although it is a daily duty for many men and women to 
cut up meat for a family, there are multitudes who do it neither wise nor well. 
The following suggestions from a caterer on this point will be an aid, especially 
to young housekeepers. 

To carve fowls, which should always be laid with the breast uppermost, place 
the fork in the breast and take off the wings and legs without turning the fowl ; 
then cut the merry-thought ; cut slices /rom the breast ; cut out the collar bone ; 
cut off the side pieces, and then cut the carcass in two. Divide the joints in the 
legs of a turkey. 

In carving sirloin, cut thin slices from the side next to you (it must be on the 
dish with the tenderloin underneath), then turn it. Help the guests to both 
kinds. 

In carving a leg of mutton or ham, begin by cutting across the middle to the 
bone. 

Cut a tongue across and not lengthwise, and held from the middle part. 

Carve a forequarter of lamb by separating the shoulder from the ribs and 
then divide the ribs. 

To carve a loin of veal, begin at the smaller end and separate the ribs. Help 
each one to a piece of kidney and its fat. Carve pork and mutton in the same 
way. 

To carve a fillet of veal, begin at the top and help to the stuffing with each 
slice. In a breast of veal, separate the breast and brisket, and then cut up. 
asking which part is preferred. 

In carving a pig, it is customary to divide it and take off the head before it 
comes to the table, as to many persons the head is revolting. Cut off the limbs 
and divide the ribs. 

In carving venison, make a deep incision down the bone to let out the juice, 
and turn the broad end toward you, cutting deep and in thin slices. Warm 
plates are very necessary with venison and mutton, and in winter are very 
desirable for all meats. 



Girls at Home. 



There is a certain class of ornamental or fancy work that seems to belong 
especially to the girls. Their tastes and deft fingers appear to be particularly 
fitted to the performance of the same. The almost entire disappearance of that 
old, senseless prejudice of fathers against their daughters wasting their time in 
what was considered useless and foolish employment, gives the girls of the pres- 
ent day, rural or city, free scope to the employment and enjoyment of innate 
gifts. The privilege is one that should be im.proved by all. No one will regret 
the work who attempts it. 

As in most other occupations, the production of ornamental work, be it sim- 
ple or complicated and difficult, involves certain mechanical principles that edu- 
cate for other and sterner departments of domestic industrial affairs. Besides 
this, it cultivates a taste for the beautiful, that will have an outcropping in home 
adornments and multiply comforts when they become the mistresses of their 
own habitations. 

Show me the housewife to-day who has all about her tidy and tasteful, and I 
will show you a lady who had her girlish tastes in an artistic way encouraged 
and strengthened while under the parental roof. 

It does not require wealth to develop an exquisite and refined taste in any 
person. Symmetry and true genius will be made to stand out as boldly in the 
arrangement of a rustic mug filled with forest flowers and wild grasses, as with 
the most elaborately wrought vase that can be found decked with the rarest of 
blooming beauties. 

The fields and the woodland wilds are laden with growths that may be col- 
lected and converted into ornamental articles ; bits of fabric, too, may be 
metamorphosed into useful and pretty commodities, and as the taste develops 
with experience, new sources are discovered which furnish abundance for amuse- 
ment in an artistic way. 

In the following pages of this work it has been the author's effort to describe 
the making of only such articles as may be produced by any girl who may desire 
to undertake it. No effort has been put forth to reach the higher arts — only 
the preliminary steps that may guide to perfection. 

Upon the leading subject, that of wax flower making, the directions have 
been obtained from Mrs. E. S. L. Thompson, a professional worker and teacher 
in the pleasant art of imitating nature's beauties. Her mode of making will be 
found simple, clearly explained, and entirely practical. 



658 WAX FLOWER MAKING. 

WAX FLOWER MAKING. 



Molds for Wax Leaves. — Have ready a number of leaves such as oak, 
ivy, rose, geranium, fuchsia, heliotrope, etc. Place them on a large sheet of 
writing paper, with the smooth side of the leaf lying on the paper. 

With a common mucilage brush and some melted lard, brush carefully over 
the back part of the leaf. Then mix in a deep dish or bowl one half pound of 
plaster Paris, using water enough to make a stiff batter. Dip out quickly (as it 
hardens easily), and cover each leaf in turn with a thick coating of the Paris. 

Smooth over with a case knife, then in a half hour turn over the molds and 
with a penknife carefully remove the leaves. Then allow molds to stand until 
perfectly hard, and they are ready for use. 

To Sheet Wax for Wax Flowers. — Melt by a slow heat one pound 
of best cake wax in an earthen dish. When thoroughly broken up in small 
pieces, add one large tablespoonful of balsam of fir, stirring in with a clean stick. 
If a pure white is wanted, add a tablespoonful of silver white (tube paint), stir- 
ring in thoroughly. 

When all is well mixed, strain through a thin white muslin cloth into a clean 
earthen dish. Have ready a pane of glass, a basin of water, and a dipper with 
a long handle. A small table with a covering of thick brown paper is best to 
work on. 

Have your wax on the stove hearth, keeping it warm, but not hot. Dip your 
pane of glass in the basin of water, shake off all the drops quickly ; then dip up 
a dipper of wax and pour down lengthwise of the pane. Slip the point of a 
knife under one edge and remove carefully. Wet the glass again, shake off the 
drops and make another sheet, and so on until you have a sufficient quantity. 

If you wish colored wax, tie a half teaspoonful of dry paint, any color you 
may desire, up in a small thin cloth. Press it out into your melted cake wax, 
to which the balsam of fir has previously been added. By using care a very 
desirable result may be obtained. 

In using the wax which you sheet yourself, if not in warm weather, be sure 
to have the room in which you work quite warm, as the wax breaks easily. 

Lilly of the Valley. — Materials required are lily of the valley leaf mold ; 
one package white wax (single); one package dark green wax (single); one 
spool green wire (silk wound). The cost of these materials will be ninety-five 
cents, and they will be sufficient to make a fine spray for three bouquets. A 
piece of the spool wire three inches long for the stalk ; wind this with a nar- 
row strip of the dark green wax. Then cut eight pieces of the spool wire one 
and one-fourth inches long for the stems. 

These should be wound with a narrow strip of the white wax and a ball the 
size of a pin head made with the wax on the top of each of the eight small 



WAX FLOWER MAKING. 659 

wires. One cent's worth of the very lightest shade of dry paint (yellow) is use- 
ful in making the lily of the valley. A very small quantity rubbed on the white 
stems and the ball at each end ; then cut v/ith a steel pin eight pieces the size 
and shape of figure below. 

Place one of these around the long stem which forms the stalk, having first 
made a ball the size of a pin head on the end of the stalk. This Httle ball 
should be right in the center of the flower and is intended to represent the 
pollen. 

With your steel pin turn the pointed edges of the flower slightly back, as that 
is the natural appearance of the lily of the valley. Place a flower on each of 
the small wires, pressing down around the stems and fastening the edges 
together with the warmth of the fingers. 

Attach the small wires to the stem by winding them carefully around just 
enough to fasten them, curving the stem enough to make the flower hang down 
a little. Two leaves are required for each stem of the lilies. 

Have ready two pieces of green spool wire (or stem wire is better) three 
inches and a half long. Dip your brass leaf mold into water, shake off the 



WWWM 



LILY OF THE VALLEY PATTERN. 



drops and lay a sheet of the dark green wax smoothly down on the leaf mold, 
press it down firmly, and then lay in the stem which has previously been wound 
with a narrow strip of the dark green wax. 

The stem should only extend about half way up the length of the leaf. Then 
place another sheet of the dark green wax over the mold, press down firmly so 
that the veins may show, and the wax may be cut off neatly around the edges. 

After making two leaves in this manner, place the stem of lihes upright be- 
tween the leaves, twisting the stems together immediately at the bottom. Your 
"lily of the valley spray " is now complete and ready for the vase. 

The Pond liilies. — Materials required are one pond lily leaf mold, one 
package green stems for leaves, one package light green pond lily wax, one 
package white pond lily wax, one package light and one of dark yellow wax, 
one bottle Indian red, dry paint, one large, glass headed molding pin, one coil 
white bonnet wire. 

The usual cost of these materials will be one dollar and a half. They may 
be had at any reliable art store ; the bonnet wire at any millinery shop. 

To Malie the Pollen. — Fold or double a sheet of light yellow wax 
lengthwise of the sheet. Then with a pair of sharp scissors notch it across as 



66o 



WAX FLOWER MAKING. 



in fig. I, one inch wide and three inches long. Pinch the end of each notch 
between the thumb and forefinger, then the notched strip is ready to place on 
the stem. Fold a dark yellow sheet in the same manner and cut with a little 
larger points. 




FIG. I.— POND LILY POLLEN PATTERN. 



To Hake the Stems.— For each stem take a piece of wire a third of a 
yard long. Having cut some narrow strips of green wax, wind the stem care- 
fully, pressing the wax down with the warmth of your fingers. Make a small 
hook at the upper end of the wire to prevent the leaves from slipping upward 




FIG. 2. — POND LILY PETAL PATTERN. 

in putting them together. Cover this hook with a small ball of yellow wax ; 
with the point of your glass pin make a dent in the center of the ball, and draw 
lines from the center to the outer edge of the ball to give the appearance of a 
star ; then roll the light yellow strip around the stem, pressing it neatly and 
firmly down. Then put on the dark yellow strip, whose points must be rubbed 
lightly with the finger dipped in a small quantity of the Indian red paint. 




FIG. 3. — POND LILY PETAL PATTERN. 



To Hake the Leaves. — Cut with the sharp point of your glass molding 
pin eight pieces the size and shape of fig. 2, being careful to have your sheet 
of wax laid on some clean white paper on a smooth table, and dipping the pin 



WAX FLOWER MAKING. 



66l 



in water occasionally to keep it from sticking and tearing the wax. Lay your 
pattern lengthwise of the sheet of wax ; it will not do to cut the leaves out cross- 
wise of the sheet. 

Then dip the knob of the pin in water, shake off the drops, and roll the 
rounded end of the leaf until it is cupped half way down its length and espe- 
cially at the end. When the eight leaves are well rolled, begin placing them on 
the stem. Place the bottom part of the leaf right on the stem, letting the edge 
of the leaf rest on the bottom edge of the center of yellow wax. 

Place another leaf immediately opposite the first, pressing on firmly with the 
warmth of your fingers, and so on till you have eight small leaves. Make eight 
more leaves from pattern like fig. 3, and having rolled them, place on in 
the same manner, allowing the rounded edges of the size fig. 3 to project a little 
above the edges of fig. 2. 




FIG. 4. POND LILY PETAL PATTERN. 

Of fig. 4 make eight leaves, roll and place on a little above the edges of 
fig. 3. Of fig. 5 make sixteen leaves and place on a little above the edges of 
fig. 4. Make eight more leaves shape of fig. 5, only more rounded at the top ; 
roll and place on a little above the edges of fig. 5. 

Cut eight leaves out of the green wax slightly larger — a little longer and wider 
than fig. 4 — roll and place on in the same manner as the white ones, immediately 




FIG. 5. — POND LILY PETAL PATTERN. 



over those last placed. These are for the calyx ; then rub them on the outside 
with a little Indian red paint. This is also used on the leaves. 



662 WAX FLOWER MAKING. 

For leaves take two pieces of green stem wire for each leaf, and wind them 
with narrow strips of green wax. Four leaves with a lily and a bud is sufficient. 
When your stems are all wound, take your brass leaf mold, dip it in water, 
shake off the drops, then lay on it a sheet of green wax, press it down lightly, 
so that it will adhere to the mold. Then place in your stem a little over half 
way down the length of the leaf. 

Fold over your sheet of wax, press down firmly until the veins are plain and 
the edges cut neatly off all around, and so on until your four leaves are com- 
plete. Then rub over the veins with a very small quantity of the Indian red 
paint, as the leaves and calyx of the natural pond lily are slightly tinged with a 
reddish brown color. 

After you have completed your lily, coil the wire up about three times, bend- 
ing the lily stem until it rests immediately in the center of the coil ; attach the 
leaves to the coil as neatly as possible, or what is better, fasten immediately to 
the stem of the lily. This must be done with great care, as the wax is easily 
broken. For the bud, make in the same manner as the lily, using only half the 
number of leaves. 

The Calla Lily. — Materials required are one wooden molding pin ; one- 
fourth package magnolia wax (this wax comes in large sheets and is cream 
colored) ; one yard bonnet wire ; one-half package green pond lily wax ; a small 
quantity of dry paint (chrome green), and a small quantity of corn meal. 

To get the leaf mold for the calla lily you must make it yourself of plaster of 
Paris, according to directions given before for molding leaves. Now cut from 
your cream colored sheet wax two pieces the shape of fig, i, five and a half 
inches long and three and a half inches wide. One is for the full blown lily and 




FIG. I. — CALLA LILY FLOWER PATTERN. 



one for the open bud ; having previously wound a piece of the bonnet wire with 
a narrow strip of green wax. The wire for the stem should be nine inches 
long. 

Now take a strip of the cream colored wax three and a half inches wide ; be- 
ginning at top of the stem, fold it around the stem lengthwise and press neatly 
and firmly to place. Now roll this calyx in a small quantity of light yellow 



WAX FLOWER MAKING. 663 

wax, afterward roll it in corn meal. Now mold the two pieces cut like fig. i 
with your wooden molding pin. 

The only way to do this successfully is to have a calla lily in bloom for a 
guide, or else a picture of one, such as is seen in chromos. After roUing or 
molding to shape, place on the stem, letting the bottom of the stem rest on the 
bottom edge of the piece used for calyx. Rub the lower edge of the calyx with 
a very small quantity of green paint. 

Make the half open bud in exactly the same manner, only roll to give a less 
open appearance. The calla lily flower grows up between two leaves and should 
be sprayed to have that appearance. The leaves are molded on the plaster of 
Paris leaf mold, which you should make from the natural leaf before beginning 
the flower. Use for the leaves light green pond lily wax. 

The Orange Blossom. — Materials, one-half package white sheet wax, 
single, one-half package light green wax, single, four or five stems orange blos- 
soms leaf mold, glass headed molding pin, and a small quantity of light yellow 
wax. 

First wind three pieces stem wire with narrow strips of the light green wax ; 
now wind three more stems about two-thirds as long as the first three ; the 
half length stems are for the leaves, which are molded in the same manner as 
directed for other leaves. 

On each end of the full length stems make a small hook and cover it with 
a ball of the green wax ; now cut a strip of white wax, doubled an inch long 
and a quarter of an inch wide ; with a pair of sharp scissors cut half way 
through the depth of this piece, and clear across, so as to give it the appearance 
of fringe. 

Wet the edge lightly, and dip in the dry, yellow paint. Now roll the bottom 
edge of this piece around the lower edge of the first green ball made on the 
stem ; when that is done, turn the serrated points out a little with the sharp 
point of your molding pin. Now cut from the white wax twelve pieces the size 
and shape of fig. 2 ; roll with the glass head of your molding pin, so that the 




FIG. 2. — ORANGE BLOSSOM PATTERN. 



rounding edge will turn slightly out from the center. The twelve pieces will 
make three flowers. Place on the stem with the lower straight edge of fig. 2 
resting on the lower edge of first small green ball. Place on one piece, then 
one exactly opposite until you have four. Arrange the stems by twisting to- 
gether carefully after you have completed the flowers and leaves. 

Observe the natural tree (grown by a great many outside of green houses) 



664 WAX FLOWER MAKING. 

for the arrangement of the leaves. To give the leaves the glossy appearance 
natural to them, rub with the forefinger, or v^ith a stomp brush. 

White August Lily. — Materials, one bunch lily stamens, one-half pack- 
age double white wax, one package light green wax for leaves, a few green 
stems, one large glass headed molding pin (the same as used in making pond 
lilies), five cents' worth of dry paint, light yellow. The leaf mold must be 
made from the natural leaf, according to the directions in " molds for leaves." 




-WHITE AUGUST LILY PATTERN. 



This lily blooms in August, but the leaf mold may be made the last of June, as 
the leaves are well developed by that time. 

Now cut two pieces like fig, i, three inches wide at top and six inches long, 
from your double white wax ; roll so that the points will turn outward a little 
and the center part of the lily be cup-shaped. Having two stems wound to- 
gether, or what is better, a piece of bonnet wire nine inches long, with a narrow 
strip of green wax ; take a strip of white wax two and a half inches long and 
half an inch wide, double it lengthwise and roll around the stem, placing in five 
lily stamens, the center one projecting half an inch beyond the rest. 




-WHITE AUGUST LILY CALYX PATTERN. 



These stamens should first be wrapped up to the ball part with strips ol 
white wax, sufficiently wide to cover them neatly, and the ball part dipped in 
the dry, yellow paint. Now place the two parts of the lily on the stem, joining 
carefully by pressing the edges together with the warmth of the fingers. The 
points of the Hly must project a fourth of an inch beyond the lily stamens. 



WAX FLOWER MAKING. 665 

To make the bud cut pieces the shape of fig. i, only smaller. The lily and 
bud grow up out of a green calyx shaped like fig. 2. 

Cut the pieces of green sheet wax and place on the stem with the pointed 
part turned toward the top of the lily and a little open. The bottom part of 
this green calyx should rest immediately on the bottom of the lily stem, or to be 
plainer, on the bottom of fig. i. Observe the natural lily for perfect arrange- 
ment. 

Mold the leaves very carefully, using the green stem wire, first wound with 
strips of wax, and thoroughly saturating the leaf mold with water before plac- 
ing on your sheet of wax to mold leaf. This must be done quickly on all plas- 
ter of Paris molds, as they dry off so easily, not giving perfect veining unless 
very moist. 

The Pink Day Lily. — Materials, one half-package rose pink wax, four 
pieces green stem wire, one-half package light green wax, double, seven lily 
stamens ; one bunch will make a spray of the white August and pink day lily. 




FIG. I,— PINK DAY LILY PATTERN. 

For the full blown lily cut two pieces the shape of fig. i, two and one-fourth 
inches widj and four inches long, being careful to lay your pattern lengthwise 
of the sheet of wax. 

Roll with glass headed molding pin, exactly as you did for the August lily. 
Use a piece of bonnet wire six and a half inches long for lily and bud stem. 
Use the stem wire for the leaves. Wind the piece six and a half inches long 
with a narrow strip of green wax ; then take narrow strips of pink wax and 
wind the stamens up to the ball part ; dip the ball part of stamens in light yellow 
paint. Then take a strip of pink wax half an inch wide and two inches long 



^IG. 2. PINK DAY LILY LEAF PATTERN. 

and fold lengthwise around the stem, placing in the stamens ; six of them exactly 
even one with another and the seventh or middle one half an inch longer than 
the rest. Now arrange lily on the stem exactly as you did white August lily 
and finish with a green calyx. 



666 WAX FLOWER MAKING. 

The leaves of this lily may be made without leaf mold ; they are perfectly 
straight on the edges and have fine veins. Make your pattern of Bristol board, 
cutting of green wax two pieces like fig. 2, three-fourths of an inch wide and 
five inches long, for each leaf. Having first wound three or four pieces of stem 
wire, cut out your leaves, laying in the stems exactly as you would if using leaf 
mold. Make the veins by drawing the point of your molding pin very carefully 
through the center of each leaf three or four times after they are stemmed. 

The Rose and Bud. — Materials, one package white, light pink, deep 
crimson or pale buff wax. (If variety is desired, a rose and bud of each of these 
colors may be used in bouquet). One package green stem wire, one package 
dark green wax and one package light green wax. 

Use large glass headed molding pin for molding leaves into shape ; rose leaf 
mold, large or medium size, according to the color of rose you are making. 
Make a small hook at the end of one stem wire ; then with a narrow strip of 
green sheet wax wind the stem very neatly. 

Cover the hook with a small piece of wax, which has been doubled three or 
four times, so as to form a small ball. This ball should be the same color as the 
rose you intend making. Below the first ball make one slightly smaller, which 
is covered with green wax for the calyx after the rose is complete. Now cut 
ten leaves the size and shape of this pattern. 




ROSE LEAF PETAL PATTERN. 



With the head of the glass pin roll them cup shaped, being careful to dip the 
pin in water occasionally, to keep it from adhering to the wax. Now begin 
placing them on the stem ; roll the straight part of the first leaf around the bot- 
tom part of the ball made on the hook. 

The wax is very pliable, and no difficulty will be experienced in giving the 
leaves the natural shape and position of a rose leaf. Continue until you have 
placed five on the stem, letting the sides of each leaf lap the one over the other, 
this gives the rose a rich double appearance. 

The five remaining leaves may now be placed on the stem ; the curved or 
scalloped part of each leaf a very little below the first row of leaves. Now cut 
ten leaves a size larger than pattern ; roll them in the same manner as the first 
ten, and place five of them on the stem a little below the last leaves molded on. 

Vary the arrangement of the remaining five by placing the hollow outside, in- 



WAX FLOWER MAKING. 667 

stead of in, as you have done throughout the rose. Now cut ten more still a 
size larger, roll them cup shaped and place on the stem a very little lower than 
the last ones molded on, giving them a curve here and there as near like the 
natural rose as possible. Thirty leaves of the sizes given make a large full- 
blown rose. 

If a small, delicate rose is desired, cut the leaves the same shape but smaller, 
A natural or artificial rose is good for a model. Now cover the calyx with a 
narrow double strip of the green wax. 

To make a half blown bud use half the number of leaves. Use the green 
sheet wax, light or dark, according to the color of the rose, for the stem leaves ; 
molding them on your leaf mold in the same manner as described for the pond 
lily leaf. 

All leaves are molded by the same process, using of course different molds 
for different flowers. Three stem leaves, a full-blown rose and a half-blown 
bud are used in one spray with fine effect. 

The Fuchsia. — Materials, one-fourth package stem wire, one-half package 
each white, pink and light green wax, fuchsia leaf mold, one bunch fuchsia 
stamens. Fuchsias are of different colors, pure white ones are used on wax 
crosses ; then we have in the natural flower those with very double purple cen- 
ters and deep crimson petals, others with pink petals and pure white centers. 




FIG. I. THE FUCHSIA PATTERN, 



To make a spray of those having pink petals and white centers cut eight 
pieces from the white wax the size and shape of fig. i . Roll them cup shape 
exactly as you did for the rose. Make a hook at the end of the stem, the same 
as for the rose ; then take a piece of wax not quite one inch long and less than 
half an inch wide and roll around the hooked part of the stem, which must be 
wound with a strip of wax ; first having placed five stamens, two on each side 
and one immediately in the center of long narrow piece before rolling it around. 

Let the center stamen come out a third longer than the other four, observe 
the natural fuchsia for correct arrangement. Now place on the cup shaped pieces,. 




NO. 2. — FUCHSIA BUD PATTERN. 



the first and one immediately opposite, until you have used four, the remaining; 
four are placed on in the same manner, only a little lower on the stem. 



668 ' WAX FLOWER MAKING. 

For a double fuchsia use eight pieces, for a single one but four. Now cut 
from the pink wax four pieces like fig. 2 ; roll so that the pointed part will bend 
slightly backward. Place on the stem with the straight part of fig. 2, resting 
immediately where you placed the pointed part of fig. i. Finish your fuchsia 
with a small strip of green wax for the calyx. 

To make a half open bud, roll the pieces like fig. 2, as you did for the full- 
blown fuchsia, but turn the pieces over and bring the points together just so 
they will touch. Mold the leaves on your fuchsia leaf mold exactly as has been 
•described for other leaves. In making any flower, the best guide any one can 
have is a spray composed of full-blown flower, half-open bud and leaves. 

To Make the Abutilon. — The materials required are, half package light 
green, half package white, half package yellow (light) wax ; some green spool 
wire, abutilon leaf mold, glass headed molding pin, small camel's hair brush, 
one tube dark yellow oil paint, and one bunch rose stamens. These materials 
will cost about one dollar, and will make enough for four bouquets, or be suffi- 
cient to teach three or four persons. 

First mold your leaves in this manner : Take a piece of wire three inches long, 
and wind it with a narrow strip of the green wax ; now wind two other pieces 
of wire, each one and one-half inches long. Dip the leaf mold in water, then 
shake off the drops, lay a sheet of wax lengthwise on the back of the leaf mold ; 
press it down around the edges, when it will cut off. Now lay the longest wire 
wrhich you have already wound exactly in the center of this leaf, and lay over it 
another piece of wax lengthwise of the sheet. 

Press this firmly down so as to get a good impression of the veins, and your 
leaf is ready to remove from the leaf mold. Dip your finger in water and rub 
around the edges, when it will easily come off. Mold two more leaves in ex- 
actly the same manner (on the shorter pieces of wire) and join them to the first 
leaf. A spray of the abutilon is best to have by you for a model. 

Now for the flower. Cut of white wax six pieces the size and shape of illus- 
tration. Roll until cupped around the rounding edges. Then, with your camel'? 




THE ABUTILON PATTERN. 



hair brush barely dippea m the dark yellow paint, draw fine veins all over the six 
pieces. These veins are represented by the Imes in the figure. 

Lay them aside and cut off a. piece, two and a half inches long, of the spool 
wire. Make a hook at one end and cover it with a narrow strip of wax one-half 
inch long and a fourth wide. In this place five rose stamens, the one in the 



WAX FLOWER MAKING. 669 

middle longer than the rest, folding the wax around firmly to keep the stamens 
in place. After this is done, wrap the stem with a narrow strip of light green 
wax. Now place the six pieces prepared on the stem, allowing the bottom,, 
which has a narrow straight edge, to rest right around the full part covered with 
the narrow strip of wax. 

The abutilon is full shaped, and when the pieces are all on, its appearance is 
rich and double. Finish off when the pieces are put on with a small piece of 
wax, and join your flower to the leaves. To make yellow ones, proceed in the 
same manner, veining them with the dark yellow paint. 

Moss for Moss Rose Buds in Wax.— Go to the woods and find 
some old log on which has grown moss with a fern like appearance. Remove 
it carefully and^place in the basket that you have brought along to hold your 
"forest treasures." When you reach home place it in a pan of water, carefully 
removing all the dirt. Then with small scissors detach the pieces (an inch long" 
if you can get them that way) and place in an old book. 

Smooth the moss out, and do not place more than four pieces in one place, 
leaving three or four leaves between each time you put in moss. When done, 
lay your book away with a heavy weight on it. In five or six days you can re- 
move the moss and place in a small box among your wax materials. I have 
prepared moss this way, and found it very nice. If you buy it you will find it 
expensive. 




-PERIWINKLE PATTERN. 



The PeriTiiJttkle. — Materials : Steel cutting pin, one bottle crimson paint 
(dry), one package white wax, one spool green cotton wound wire, one bottle 
green paint (dark). These materials will make a cluster of periwinkles, a cluster 
of white and a cluster of crimson verbenas, leaving enough for a handsome sprav 
of i\'y and tea roses. 

Have ready a cup of water and a clean sheet of writing paper. Cut out of 
stiff paper or very thin pasteboard a pattern like fig. i. Then lay a sheet of 



670 



WAX FLOWER MAKING. 



wax down smooth on the writing paper. Wet the point of the pin in water, and 
carefully cut out exactly by the pattern. 

Three the size and shape of fig. i will be enough. Then wet the ball part 
of the pin in the water, shake off the drops; then place your "periwinkle" in 
the left hand and roll the curved edges cup shaped with the ball part of the pin. 
This can be easily done. 

Each one of the three should be prepared in this manner and laid aside until 
the stems are ready. Cut from the spool of wire one stem two and one-half 
inches long, make a hook by bending the wire over at one end ; on this hook a 
small piece of wax should be placed (about as large as two pin heads) ; this can 
"be done with the very small scraps of white wax. Color this small ball with the 
crimson paint rubbed on with a small Canton flannel cloth. 

Cut two more pieces of wire one and one-half inches long, and prepared in 
exactly the sam.e manner. Then you place the " periwinkles" on their stems ; 
this is done by carefully punching the stem wire through the center of the flower 
(just enough to bring the ball through on the right side), pressing the flowers 
up neatly and carefully around the stem. 

Now twist the ends together, leaving the longest or center stem to project half 
an inch above the others. You can now make the leaves. 

Cut of thin pasteboard or cardboard a pattern like fig. 2. Then out of 




FIG. 2. — PERIWINKLE LEAF PATTERN. 



scraps of white wax, cut by the pattern six pieces like fig. 2, coloring them 
green. These, when stemmed, will make three leaves. 

For the stems, cut of the wire three pieces one and a half inches long. Take 
two leaves and lay together with the wire laid in between nearly the whole length 
of the leaf ; press together firmly, then lay down on the table, and with the pin 
(first dipped in water) make small veins, as represented by fig. 2. The three 
leaves are stemmed together with the cluster of flowers, the leaves projecting 
above the flowers. 

TSie Butterfly Oeranium. — Materials : One half package white, one 
half package rose pink wax, two yards green spool wire, one bottle deep purple 
dry paint, one bottle magenta dry paint, glass headed cutting pin, one-half pack- 
age green single wax, of a light shade, and a plaster of Paris leaf mold. 

To Make tlie Leaf Mold. — Before giving directions for the flower, I 
will give directions for the leaf mold. You can make a dozen different kinds 
of leaves at the same time. Have ready a good sized pine board on a table. 



WAX FLOWER MAKING. 



671 



The board must be perfectly smooth. Now have your geranium leaf and other 
leaves in a pan of cold water, also have some very small pins, a tack hammer^ 
and ten cents' worth of plaster of Paris, a bowl and a knife near at hand. Five 
cents' worth of gum shellac dissolved in a small quantity of alcohol and a small 
brush (camel's hair) will be necessary to varnish the molds after they are 
made. The cost of all material for two dozen molds is not over twenty cents, 
and they are just as good as the brass ones, which cost twenty cents each 




FIG. I. — BUTTERFLY GERANIUM, HALF NATURAL SJZR. 

When you are ready wash off your board thoroughly, so as to have it very 
damp ; then carefully tack each leaf down with its right side up. The pins must 
be very small and pounded down eveh. 

Mix up the Paris with cold water to the consistency of a thick, smooth batter ; 
do not mix more than half of it at a time, as it hardens rapidly. Dip with a 
large spoon and pour over the leaves, cover them completely, putting on the 
batter until it is half an inch thick. Now smooth over with a wet case knife. 

When all the leaves are covered, allow them to stand until you can turn the 
molds over without breaking. Any pieces of leaves adhering to the molds 
can be removed carefully with a penknife. In half an hour varnish the inside 
of all the leaf molds with your small brush dipped in the gum shellac. When 
the varnish is dry the leaf molds are ready for use. 

molding tlie Wax. — Take your butterfly geranium leaf mold, dip it in 
water, shake off drops, then lay on a piece of the light green wax, press it down 
gently and place a piece of wire two inches long in the center. Lay on another 
piece of wax and press firmly down. Now sHp your leaf from the mold, and 
trim the edges, if a little rough, with a small pair of sharp scissors. All leaves 
are molded in the same way. Three leaves are enough for one spray of but- 
terfly geranium. Group them together as near like the natural flower as possible. 

We are now ready for the flower. There are a number of varieties ; white 
with purple spots, pink with purple spots, and light canary color with pink spots 
are the most beautiful. 

To Make the Floiver. — Figure i represents the flower and leaf half 
size. The illustration is taken from a very fine specimen in the writer's study. 



672 WAX FLOWER MAKING 

Cut of the pink wax three pieces shape of fig. 2, one and one-eighth of an 
inch wide and one and a fourth long. Take out a small quantity of the 
magenta paint, mix it with a little of the purple and rub on the place designated 
by A, then with your glass headed pin roll these pieces until they are a little 
cupped. 





FIG. 2. — BUTTERFLY GERANIUM LEAF SECTION. FIG. 3.— BUTTERFLY GERANIUM LEAF SECTION. 

It is not necessary to wet the head of the pin when anything has been rub- 
bed with dry paint. Lay these aside and cut three pieces shape of fig. 3, same 
size as fig. 2, and one piece two sizes smaller. Make some pointed edges, as 
indicated by the straight line drawn across the top of the figure below B. Color 
these around the edges with some of the paint you have already mixed. 

Now roll them a very little around the edges. Cut a stem three inches long, 
double it over to form a small hook at one end ; cover this hook with a small 
piece of light green wax, rolled round like a ball, and wind the stem with a nar- 
row strip of green wax. You are now ready to put your flower together. 

The pieces like fig. 2 are put on first. They are arranged as indicated in 
fig. I. The pieces like fig. 3 are next put on. When the pieces are all on, 
finish off with a small bit of green wax for calyx. Join the flower to the leaves 
already molded. The white ones are cut by the same patterns, and spotted 
with dry purple paint. 

The Pansy. — Materials : one pansy leaf mold, one bottle dark purple (dry) 
paint, one large headed cutting pin, one small headed cutting pin, half package 
double white wax, halt package green (a bright color, but not light), one bottle 
light yellow paint, half dozen pieces green stem wire, a little lamp black. I 
carefully save all small scraps of wax when making wax flowers, laying them 
between the leaves of an old book. These scraps do for small flowers, stem 
winding and calyxes. Cut out of white wax one piece the size and shape of 
fig. I. With a small Canton flannel cloth color the under side purple. It 
is necessary to rub the paint on lightly, as the under side does not show. When 
using the dry paint pour a small quantity of each color you wish to use into a 
small saucer ; it is then convenient, and will not soil wax you do not want 
colored. 

Color the upper side of the piece like fig. i, with light yellow (a small spot) 
near where it is joined on the stem. You will see what is meant by looking at 



WAX FLOWER MAKING. 



fig. 4, where the whole riower is represented. Then with purple paint color 
a larger spot purple, around it a band of light yellow, and the remainder of the 
piece purple. 




FIG. 4. THE PANSY IN WAX. 

Veining the Pansy. — The veining is done with the point of a lead pen- 
cil dipped in mucilage, then in lamp black, and carefully drawn over in lines as 
indicated in fig. 4. This veining must be done lightly, else it will cut the 
wax. Now cut of the white wax two pieces the shape of fig. 2. Color them 
light yellow around the edges of the upper side as indicated by the narrow line. 





FIG. I. — PANSY FLOWER SECTION PATTERN. 



FIG. 2. — PANSY FLOWER SECTION PATTBRN. 



In fig. 4, where the whole flower is represented, you will see how to color, 
the dark spots representing the purple, and the light the yellow. Now cut two 
more pieces the size and shape of fig. 2, only a little broader and longer, col- 
oring them as indicated in the engraving, fig. 4. All of these pieces should 



674 WAX FLOWER MAKING. 

be rolled with the giass head of the cutting pin before they are veined with the 
lampblack or placed on the stem. Cup the edges a very little. 

Never wet the head of the molding pin for flowers, colored with dry paint, as 
the paint prevents the pin from sticking to the wax. 

To Make tlie Steiai§, — For the stem take a piece of wire three inches 
long, make a small hook at one end and cover it with a ball (very small) of 
green wax, first having wound your stem with a narrow strip of green wax. 




FIG. 3.— PANSY CALYX PATTERN. 

Now place the piece numbered as fig. i on the stem. By looking at full 
flower illustration you cannot fail to see the exact arrangement of the pansy. 
When the pieces are all neatly placed on the stem add a calyx of green wax cut 
like fig. 3. The leaves are molded on the leaf exactly as all leaves before de- 
scribed. Two or three leaves and little buds formed of wax will be sufficient. 

Tint some of the leaves with a little of the carmine paint, rubbed on with 
your finger. Take some of the white wax and mold small balls, flattening 
them out like fig. 2 ; color them with the carmine paint, and place on the stem 
just where the leaf branches out. 

To Clean Soiled Wax. — Moisten a cloth in turpentine and rub very 
carefully. 

For Tea R©§e§. — Use two shades of wax, very light straw color for the 
center, and very light pink for the outside row of petals. 

For Pan§ie§. — Mix dry paint, carmine and blue, more blue than carmine, 
and rub it into the white sheet wax, having the wax quite warm and pliable, so 
that it will take the color well. 

For Coral Honeysuckles. — Rub vermilion (dry paint) into the white 
sheet wax. 

Pigments for Wax Fruit. — Generally speaking, the color of the wax 
employed is that of the lightest parts of the fruit, the deeper tints being after- 
ward laid on with brush or pencil. 

The chief pigments employed are such as burnt and raw umber and sienna, 
chrome yellow, red lead, Prussia blue, carmine, lake, etc., greens being produced 
by various admixtures of blue and yellow. 

Waxing Cclass Sails. — Certain small varieties of fruit, such as grapes 
and currants, are made of glass bulbs, carefully blown to the proper shape ; 
these are fixed by wax to wire inserted into holes, and are then dipped into 
melted wax of the proper color, a very thin coating of which gives the proper 
kind of semi-transparency to the glass, and at the same time a smoothness of 
surface not inaptly resembling that of the natural fruit. 



WAX FLOWER MAKING. 



675 



Wax Vines for Picture Cords. —The bareness of picture cords is 
very much relieved bv trimming them with vines made of wax. The ivy is very 

pretty, and is easily made. I use the 
dark green wax, making what is called 
the Irish ivy. 

One spool of fine green silk wound 
wire, two packages dark green wax, two 
ivy leaf molds (one small, one medium 
size), one cutting pin, one bottle paint 
(deep carmine), one package white wax. 
Fig. I represents a branch of the Irish 
ivy, half natural size. Cut your first 
wire several inches longer than the pic- 
ture cord on one side. Then cut shorter 
pieces to use for the stems of the 
leaves. 

Dip the large sized leaf mold in water; 
shake off the drops, and then lay on it a 
piece of the dark green wax, enough to 
cover it just over the edges. Press that 
down firmly, and then lay in the stem 
right in the center, after which lay on 
another piece of green wax, pressing it 
firmly around the edges, when it will cut 
off just the shape of the mold. 
Moisten the edges of the mold and remove the leaf. Make about twenty- 
five of the medium-sized and twenty-five of the small size, then spray or arrange 
them as near like an ivy spray as possible. It is better to have a piece of ivy to 
look at while you are working. You will be surprised how much difference 
these vines make in the artistic effect of a parlor. 

To Make IVliite Crosses. — If the cross frame is not painted white, 
cover it with thick writing paper ; paste the paper on with starchwhich has been 
well boiled and strained. Use white spool wire (silk wound) for the stems of 
your small fine flowers, and spool wire (cotton wound) for the larger flowers. 

For pansies, pinks, tuberoses and honeysuckles, it is best to have the tin 
flower cutters. They may be had of any first class art dealer. They vary in 
price according to the number of pieces in the flower ; general price, twenty cents. 
"Wax Fruit Making. — Some specimens of wax fruit are marvelous for 
their faithful imitation of the real. In making these, molding or casting is of 
more importance than in flower making, seeing that accuracy of form is the 
chief thing desired. The following very excellent hints are given upon this 
subject by a correspondent : 




WAX VINE FOR PICTURE CORD. 



676 NATURAL FLOWERS AND PLANTS. 

molds for Fruit. — The greater portion of wax fruits are made by the use 
of double molds, one for each half, and, if the fruit is irregular in its curva- 
tures, a tripartite mold may be needed. 

If an orange is to be imitated in wax, a smooth, damp surface of sand is pre- 
pared, into which exactly one-half of a good orange is carefully pressed ; a cor- 
don or border of tin or stiff paper is built up around it at about half an inch 
distance from the orange on all sides ; plaster of Paris, in a creamlike consist- 
ency, is poured into the cell thus made so as to fully cover the orange ; when 
quite firm enough to handle, this plaster half mold is taken up, and the orange 
extricated ; the orange is turned over in the sand and another half mold made 
in a similar way. 

Whether fruit is cast solid or hollow depends mainly on the size ; if large, the 
mass would be heavy, and much wax wasted by solid casting ; in this case a 
core of some rough material is fixed in the middle of the mold, which gives a 
cavity to the middle of the fruit. 

Soft kinds of fruit, such as plums, cherries and ripe pears, and some hard 
and unyielding fruits, require special management to extricate them from the 
half mold without injury to the fruit on the one hand, or to the mold on the 
other. Pomegranates, pineapples, etc., require molds in more than two parts. 
Occasionally, elastic molds of glue are found advantageous. 

^Vax Fruit Fastening's. — The fastening of the various fruits to imitative 
stems, leaves, leaflets, etc., is an affair of wires, silken thread, strips of green 
paper, w^hite flock, arrowroot paste, gum mastic, varnish, with other simple ma- 
terials and tools employed in artificial flower making. 



NATURAL FLOWERS AND PLANTS. 



Cut Flowers. — Not every lover of flowers has learned that sand is better 
than clear water for the preservation of house bouquets. White sand, not too 
coarse, is best. With it fill the dishes nearly three quarters full, and make it 
very, wet to receive the flower stems. 

Flowers keep fresh longest if cut when the dew is on them, and fade soonest 
if cut when in a warm sun. The water that stands on the top of the sand 
should be renewed every day ; a pinch of salt will do no harm and may do good, 
though I have never found it of very marked efficiency. 

When the flowers begin to grow passee, put the stems in hot water for five 
minutes, then cut the ends off a little and return them to the sand in which the 
water is about milk warm. When practicable, set cut flowers out in the dew at 
night. 



NATURAL FLOWERS AND PLANTS. 677 

A plate of sand, filled with short stemmed white flowers, makes a beautiful 
groundwork upon which to place scarlet geraniums, pink verbenas, or any other 
bright colored flowers. A little shading of green is, of course, necessary, and if 
arranged with taste, no handsomer table adornment can be imagined. 

To Make a Moiiqitet.- — The first thing to observe is harmony of color. 
They should be put together loosely and retain a natural appearance. If the 
stem is short, bind to it a little stick or piece of wire with a bit of white cotton 
thread, then when placing in the bouquet put a little damp moss at the end of 
the stem to feed it. The central flower, which should be large, like a rose or 
camellia, should have a larger and stiffer stem than the others. Fasten the 
smaller flowers around this central rose, as taste directs, being careful not to 
crowd. After having completed it, cut off the bundle of stems even and of 
proper length, and cover this with tin foil, or wind w^th white ribbon, leaving a 
loop, so that the bouquet may be suspended if desired. An edging or border 
of green ferns is most appropriate. 

To Preserve a Koiiqeet. — Sprinkle it lightly with fresh water, and put 
in a vase containing soap suds. Each morning take the bouquet out of the 
suds and lay it sidewise in clean water ; keep it there a minute or two, then take 
it out and sprinkle the flowers lightly by hand with water. Replace it in the 
suds, and it will bloom as freshly as when first gathered. Change the suds 
every three or four days. 

To Preserve Fiiiaeral Fl©wer§. — To preserve the flowers they should 
be fresh and firm, of pure white or delicate tints, without green leaves. " If a 
bouquet is to be preserved without taking the flowers apart, the leaves at least 
will have to be replaced with some other substitute, as the process does not ap- 
ply to them as well as to the flowers themselves. Take paraffine of the best 
quality and melt it in a tin cup set in hot water, which may be kept boiling 
around it so as to keep the paraffine in a liquid state for use-. 

" Into this thin and transparent mass dip the blossoms, or, if found more con- 
venient, brush them quickly with a small brush, so as to give them a very thin 
coat that will cover every part of each petal ; and this will form a casing about 
them "hat will entirely exclude the air and prevent their withering. 

" The transparency of the material renders this coating almost or quite in- 
visible, so that the flowers present that natural appearance which constitutes 
their pecuhar charm. Green leaves, if preserved in this way, must be coated 
with green wax, or with paraffine prepared with the addition of green powder 
paint. Chrome green. is best. Lighten to any tint required by adding chrome 
yellow. Wax leaves, well made, may be used to very good advantage, or moss 
will answer very well for a background or foundation for the flowers." 

Drying Flowers in §and. — Flowers, such as pansies, pinks, geraniums, 
etc., may be dried in sand so as to be much nicer than those pressed in books. 
I use envelope boxes. Put in about an inch of dry, fine sand, then lay on the 



6/8 NATURAL FLOWERS AND PLANTS. 

flowers and cover with an inch or two of sand, and let them remain for a week 
or two. When taken out, they are found to retain all their color and shades 
of colors, and in a condition to be preserved for years. For winter bouquets 
nothing can be nicer than these sand-dried flowers. 

The sand should be perfectly clean, and sifted so that there will be no lumps 
or gravel in it. It should also be fresh water sand. Put the stems of the flowers 
into it, so that they will stand up straight, and take a small sieve and sift the 
sand slowly over the flowers, taking care to spread out and arrange the petals in 
their natural condition, and to see that all the interstices between the blossoms 
are entirely filled up. 

Sift the sand over them until all the petals and stamens are covered, shaking 
the box during the process, so that the sand will closely penetrate into every 
part of the leaves of the flowers. If the flowers are small, it will be sufficiently 
warm if the box is set in the sun one or two warm days ; but if they are large, 
place the box in a moderately warm oven. 

To I>ry IVild Flo^^vers. — Drying wild flowers requires great skill and 
patience, as these fragile blossoms of the field perish so quickly. The points 
to attend to are to dry the specimens quickly, thoroughly, and with a pressure 
that will not crush them. A good method is to place each specimen in a sheet 
of brown paper, and interpose several empty sheets between each that is filled, 
and press them gently for the first day or two, just enough to prevent the leaves 
and flowers from shriveling. 

When the papers are quite damp, separate them, and spread them on the 
floor of a room where they can dry a little ; then gather them together and 
])lace them again in the press, rather increasing the pressure. This operation 
should be repeated daily till the flowers are quite dry. A quicker and better, 
but more troublesome way, is to shift the flowers daily out of their damp papers 
into hot and dry ones, immediately pressing them down. 

To Press Flowers. — Flowers may be preserved by laying them between 
blotting paper, covering these with cardboard and subjecting to a heavy pres- 
sure gradually applied. Remove them from under pressure in a day or two ; 
carefully take away the paper, etc., except the blotting papers between which 
the specimens are placed ; put these in a warm air to dry, while the removed 
cardboards are dried in the sun, or by the fire. When dry (but not warm) place 
them in the same order as before ; put all under the heavier pressure for a 
few days, when (if not succulent) they will be dry. 

Flowers of different colors require different treatment to preserve their colors. 
Blue flowers must be dried with heat, either under a case of hot sand before a 
fire, with a hot iron, or in a cool oven. Red flowers are injured by heat ; they 
require to be washed with muriatic acid, diluted with alcohol, to fix the color. 
One part of acid to three parts of alcohol is about the proportion. 

The best brush with which to apply this mixture is the head of a thistle when 



NATURAL FLOWERS AND PLANTS. 679 

in seed, as the acid destroys a hair pencil, and injures whatever it touches (ex- 
cept glass and china) ; therefore it should be used with great care. 

Many yellow flowers turn green even after they have remained yellow some 
weeks ; they must therefore be dried repeatedly before the fire, and again after 
they are mounted on paper, and kept in a dry place. Purple flowers require as 
much care, or they soon turn a light brown. White flowers turn brown if han- 
dled or brushed before they are dried. 

Daisies, pansies, and some other flowers must not be removed from under 
pressure for two or three days, or the petals will curl up. The specimens to look 
well when dry should be gathered upon a dry day, and to be of value, should 
represent the flower, the leaves, and, in small plants, the root. When gathering 
specimens, they may be kept fresh by placing them in a close, tin box, or they 
may be snugly wrapped in a moistened newspaper. 

Packing Flowers for Mailing. — The Florist says : "Always cut the 
flowers early, in the cool of the morning, and when in their prime. Take a 
piece of cotton wool, wet it, and wring it out, then twist it out about the stalk. 
If tin boxes are used they must not have sharp corners, or they will be rejected 
at the post office, but when properly made they excel all others in question. 

"At the bottom of one of these place a piece of stout, brown paper (if thin, 
double it) ; let this be well damped, then lay the flowers carefully in, placing a 
piece of silver or tissue paper between each, to prevent their crushing each 
other. Over all place a piece of the same paper, and on this a little cotton wool. 
Cover the box with paper, and the flowers will reach the extremities of a king- 
dom in good condition. 

" Let us add the modes of faulty packing to warn our friends against their 
adoption : First, placing the flowers in contact with dry cotton wool, which 
clings to them, and abstracts their moisture. Second, putting them in tin 
boxes, such as have contained lucifers, etc., which invariably get crushed in 
passing through the post office. Third, putting the cotton wool about them 
too wet, the moisture from which gets shaken over the flowers, and spoils their 
colors. Fourth, cutting the flowers after exposure to the sun, which insures 
their falling to pieces on the journey ) this also occurs if the blooms are stale." 

To Collect tlie Odors of Flowers. — Roses and all flowers contain- 
ing perfumed oils, may be made to yield the aromatic properties by steeping 
the petals or flower leaves in a saucer or a flat dish of water, and setting it in 
the sun. The petals should be entirely covered with water, which, by the way, 
should be soft, or rain water. A sufficient quantity should be allowed for 
evaporation, and the vessel should be left undisturbed a tew days. 

At the end of this time a film will be found floating on the top. This is the 
essential oil of the flower, and every particle of it is impregnated with the odor 
peculiar to the flower. It should be taken up carefully and put in tiny vials, 
which should be allowed to remain open till all watery particles are evaporated 



68o NATURAL FLOWERS AND PLANTS. 

A very small portion of this will perfume glove boxes, apparel, etc., and will 
last a long time. 

Crystafilizeca Flo^^ers. — Construct some baskets of fancy form with pli- 
able copper wire, and wrap them with gauze. Into these tie to the bottom 
flowers, ferns, geranium leaves — in fact, any flowers except full grown roses — 
and sink them in a solution of alum, of one pound to a gallon of water, after 
the solution has cooled. The colors will then be preserved in their original 
beauty, and the crystallized alum will hold faster than when from a hot solu- 
tion. 

When you have a light covering of crystals that completely cover the flowers, 
remove the basket carefully, allow to drip for twelve hours. These baskets 
make a beautiful parlor ornament, and for a long time preserve the freshness of 
the flowers. 

Traming^ Myaciiitlis*, — Get some stout paper and cut it into squares of 
a suitable size, and then roll them up into funnels, similar in form to the pointed 
bags in which grocers put moist sugar. They should be from six to nine inches 
long, and as soon as rolled into shape paste up the edge to keep them firm ; if 
for plants in pots, the funnel should be large enough to go over the bulb and a 
portion of the soil ; if for glasses, it should fill the outside of the upper rim. 

The pointed end should be cut, so that when placed over the plants the light 
will come in at the top only ; the flower stem will rise up rapidly to reach it, 
and as soon as it is as long as you desire, take off the funnel and allow it to 
bloom. After a little practice with this method, you will be able to grow them 
of a height which very much enhances their beauty where a number of them 
are arranged in a window. 

MyacMitlt§ in §poiige. — Hyacinths will do well either in glasses or 
potted, but the best way to fix them is to place a large sponge in a glass or earthen 
vessel and imbed a bulb in the center ; keep the sponge slightly saturated with 
water and let it grow there. The vessel should be of the shape of a punch 
bowl to give the best appearance, and after the bulb is well started, grass seed 
sprinkled over the upper surface of the sponge will soon form a beautiful green 
carpet around the plant. 

The Cranberry as a Moose Plant. — The common cranberry is said 
to be an attractive plant when properly cultivated in pots, and can endure a 
good deal of neglect which would be fatal to other plants. It needs to be kept 
cool and moist. A compost of muck and sand is the proper material for pot- 
ting it in. 

Although usually regarded as aquatic in its nature, it will not do to have the 
soil saturated with water. What it requires is that water shall be within reach 
of its roots, and that the soil shall be one through which water can rise readily 
by capillary attraction. Let the pot stand in about an inch of water, and it 
will thrive better than in any greater depth. 



NATURAL FLOWERS AND PLANTS. ' 68l 

The cranberry roots readily from cuttings, or it can be propagated by bend- 
ing down the sprays and covering them with the moist compost. It is beauti- 
ful at all times of the year, and especially so after the fruit commences to ripen. 
Its red berries will remain on the vine for a long tim.e, and are highly orna- 
mental. 

§niilax for Hoii§e Culture. — For a running vine I have found nothing 
more attractive for indoor culture than smilax, and it is not so difficult to make 
it grow vigorously as many suppose. The secret of success hes in having a 
moist atmosphere in the room. Plenty of sunlight upon it, and abundance of 
water around the roots, do not answer the purpose ; the air itself must be humid, 
and kept so. 

The plants should be started late in the fall, and they will flourish nicely all 
winter, if cared for properly. In the spring the bulbs should be removed from 
the earth and dried for summer keeping and rest. 

To Traisi Fucli§ia§, — When a slip has grown six or eight inches high, 
nip out the top down to the last set of leaves ; it will then throw out branches 
on each side. Let these grov/ eight or ten inches, then nip them out as before. 
Th^ tops of later branches when grown the same height as the others, should 
be nipped out again. Procure a stick the size of your finger, eighteen inches 
in length, take a wire, twine back and forth alternately through holes made in 
the stick equal distances apart to form loops on two sides ; place this firmly in 
the pot back of the plant, tie the branches to it, and you will have, when in 
flower, a beautiful and very graceful plant. 

To Repot Hou§e Plaiit§, — The best way to determine whether or not 
a plant needs repotting, is to carefully remove it, by inverting, holding the hand 
over the surface and hitting the edge of the crock a light blow by bringing it 
down upon a table. Examine the roots, and if they are matted about the sides 
and bottom of the ball, the plant evidently requires fresh potting. Then care- 
fully reduce the ball of earth to about a third of its original bulk ; single out the 
matted roots and trim away all that are moldy and decayed. 

" Probably the same pot may then be large enough, but if it requires a larger 
one it should be about two inches broader for a middle sized plant ; three or 
four for a large plant. If the roots are not matted, but the pots are filled with 
fibers, keep the ball entire and carefully plant it in a larger pot. At the top of 
a large pot, an inch, and of a small one, half an inch should be left for recep- 
tion ot water, without danger of overflow. 

" A little gravel, charcoal, or pieces of broken pots should always be placed 
at the bottom for drainage. A plant newly potted must never be exposed to a 
strong sun. It should be watered and placed in the shade immediately and 
there remain till it is rooted, which may be known by its starting to grow." 

Double Flower Pots. — It is said plants thrive better in double flower 
pots than in single ones ; that is, if the pot containing the plant is placed inside 



682 NATURAL FLOWERS AND PLANTS. 

a larger one with earth between the two. The outer pot prevents the sun front*. 
striking with too great force on the inner one, and thus keeps the plant moists 
and secures for its roots a more even temperature. 

Flower pots containing plants may be kept in boxes, the interstices between. 
the pots being filled with sawdust. This arrangement is valuable in the heat 
of summer, for the box shades the pots from the rays of the sun, and the saw- 
dust retains moisture around the plants. 

A Cone Oreeiiery, — Take a dried cone or burr of a white pine or a fir 
tree, which has shed its seeds, and sprinkle various kinds of grass and canary 
bird seeds into its vacant openings ; then cover them slightly with fine scouring 
sand and place the cone in a wine glass or a small vase filled with water. 

In a few days the cone will have absorbed so much moisture that its circles, 
will close up ; in a few more the seeds will sprout, and soon tiny shoots will 
form a pyramid of living green, beautifully relieved by the dark brown pedestal 
formed by the pine cone ; and if the water is renewed as it evaporates, the grass 
will grow and even flower in the miniature garden. 

A number of different sized cones can be procured and placed in a shallow 
glass preserve dish, when the effect will be more beautiful, because many vari- 
eties of grass can be sown. 

A Ooblet Oreenery. — Take a goblet with the stem broken or cut off so 
that the bowl will be perfect ; take coarse red flannel, the redder the better, 
stitch it neatly around the bowl or goblet, so as to cover it completely on the 
outside ; dip it in water, so as to wet it thoroughly, then roll it in flaxseed. The 
seed will stick in and on the flannel. Be sure that the seed is distributed evenly, 
then stand it on its mouth, or large end, in a small saucer or small plate ; put 
water in the small plate or saucer, and renew or add to it as it absorbs. Never 
let the vessel get dry, nor suffer it to chill or freeze. It can and will grow in 
any part of the room, and will be a deep green with red ground. 

A ISottle Oreenery. — Take a bottle with a tapering neck, sew thick flan- 
nel pretty tightly round it, fitting it closely, but not too tight. Saturate the 
flannel with water, roll it in mustard seed, or flax seed, or land cress seed, till it 
is well covered with them. Then tie a cord around the neck and hang it up in 
the window of a warm room. Sprinkle it every day, or dip it into a vessel filled 
with water, now and then. 

Wheat Head Oreenery. — Take a small bundle of nearly ripened wheat 
heads, with stalks half a foot long ; lay the bundle in a basin of water until well 
soaked, say twelve hours, then put them in a vase or hyacinth bottle and set in 
a dark closet until the kernels of grain sprout. When brought out to the light 
it will grow and make a very pleasing and novel room ornament. 

Mimie Oerman Ivy. — A vine may be produced from the sweet potato 
which very much resembles the German ivy. It is cheap and novel. Take a 
large, well shaped sweet potato and place it root end down in a tumbler or gob- 



LEAF ORNAMENTS. 683 

let and put in as much water as the glass will hold. In a short time roots will 
reach out and sprouts begin to appear, and in the course of a few weeks there 
will be a nice growth of vines. 

If the potato is large enough or the glass small enough to prevent the root 
end of the former reaching the bottom of the tumbler, it will be better, as it gives 
room for the rootlets to ramify and feed. The glass may be set upon a bracket 
beneath a picture and the vines trained up and around the frame, or it may be 
kept behind the picture. If there is not enough " taste" in this manner of grow- 
ing, the potato may be imbedded in a large sponge, as directed for the hyacinth 
bulb. 

A Miniature Oak. — An acorn suspended by a piece of thread within half 
an inch of the surface of water in a hyacinth glass, will, in a few months, burst 
and throw a root down into the water, and shoot upward its straight and taper- 
ing stem with beautiful little green leaves. A young oak tree, growing in this 
way on the mantelshelf of a room, is a very interesting object. 

A Hanging' Crarden. — Take a white sponge of large size and sow it full 
of rice, hemp, canary, grass, and other seeds, then place it in a shallow dish, in 
which a little water is constantly kept, and as the sponge will absorb the mois- 
ture, the seeds will begin to sprout before many days. When this has fairly 
taken place, by means of cords the sponge may be suspended in a window 
where a little sun will enter. It will thus become a mass of green foliage, and 
should be refreshed with water daily, so as to be kept moist. 



LEAF ORNAMENTS. 



Skeleton Leaf Bowqiiets. — Leaves for a skeleton bouquet should be 
gathered when in full vigor, and the first thing to do after this is to decompose^ 

Proces§ of Decomposition. — Dissolve a sufficient quantity of wash- 
ing soda in soft water to make a strong solution ; put it in a brass or porcelain 
kettle, throw in the leaves, and let them boil for five or ten minutes. By press- 
ing one between the fingers, rubbing it lightly, you can tell whether the pulpy 
matter is in condition to be removed. If it rubs off easily, take the leaves out 
of the kettle, and put them into cold water. 

Have a basin of clear water ready, take them one by one, and with gentle and 
very careful pressure — ^jusf under the water — remove all of the tissue. Be sure 
that every particle is off the veins. Float them on pieces of writing paper, and 
remove from the water, when they can be laid aside, ready for bleaching. 

How to Bleack E-eaves. — Get half a pound of chloride of lime (strong) 
and place it in an earthen vessel or pitcher ; add three pints of soft, cold water. 



684 LEAF ORNAMENTS. 

and stir carefully with an iron spoon ; press in so as to mash the lumps well 
against the sides of the vessel. 

Keep covered, and allow it to stand in a cool place until the hme has precipi- 
tated upon the bottom of the vessel, which will be done in about half an hour, 
except a small portion that may remain floating on the surface, which remove 
with a spoon, and pour off the clear liquid into a bottle ; cork up tightly and 
keep in a cool place. 

When ready for bleaching, take a glass jar with a. wide mouth, place the leaves 
in, cover with water, and add the bleaching solution in the proportion of two 
tablespoonfuls to a pint of water. Cover the jar tightly and put it in a warm 
place. It takes from thirty minutes to twenty-four hours for bleaching, accord- 
ing to the leaf. 

Ferns require the longest time. They are not skeletonized. Make a collec- 
tion of the smallest, most delicate kinds, place them betw^een the leaves of a 
book, and allow them to remain there until perfectly dry, when they can be 
removed and put into the bleach. Watch the leaves through the glass and take 
out when done. 

They must be thoroughly washed, by changing the water, and let stand in 
water several hours after taken out of the bleach, or they will become yellow 
-again. Dry them by pressing between folds of linen. For stems, stiffen thread 
with gum arable. 

Time for Cratliering Leave§. — Silver poplar, gather from June to Sep- 
tember. Aspen poplar, June or July. Linden and weeping willow, June to 
July. Everlasting pea, any time in the summer. Elm, June or July. Dwarf 
pear, sassafras, beach, hickory, chestnut, rose (common dark velvet), July. 

Of green house plants, camellia, cape jasmine and orange. To the foregoing 
tree leaves might be added the quince, horse chestnut, wild cherry, barberry and 
boxwood. 

The pear leaf and common cHmbing ivy are most easily prepared, and may 
be classed among the very prettiest leaves. Of seed vessels, take Jamestown 
weed, wild cucumber, lobelia, skull cap, shell flower, poppy pod. Also the seed 
vessel found on what is commonly called ground cherry. 

The collection of leaves, etc., should be six times as large as you expect to 
-use when they are prepared, because so many are unavoidably made imperfect 
during the process 

Arrangemeiit of Skeleton Leaves. — When enough perfect ones are 
obtained, arrange according to fancy. Their beauty and delicacy are especially 
perceptible when arranged over a black cross. The stalk and branching parts 
of the ground cherry weed will bleach quite white. Take a small irregular sec- 
tion of this, with some seed vessels connected if possible, and on this as a center 
the leaves may be arranged in pretty bouquet form. In either case they must 
.have a glass covering. 



LEAF ORNAMENTS. 685 

To Take l.eaf Iiiipre§sions. — Take a sheet of well calendered letter 
paper and coat it well with sweet oil. After it has thoroughly penetrated, wipe 
the sheet dry, and expose it to the air for awhile. ,Then take a lighted candle 
and move the paper over it, in a horizontal direction, so as not to touch the 
flame, till it is perfectly black. 

To take impressions, lay the leaves carefully on the blackened side of the oiled 
paper, and a piece of clean paper over them, and rub with your fingers equally in 
all parts for half a minute ; then take up your leaf, and be careful not to disturb 
the order of the leaves. Now place it on the paper on which you wish to have 
the impression ; then cover it with a piece of blotting paper, and rub it with your 
finger for a short time, and you will have an impression superior to the finest 
engraving. 

The piece of black paper will answer to take off a number of impressions. 
The principal advantage of this method is, that the paper receives the impression 
of the most minute veins. The impressions may afterwards be colored, if it is 
so desired. 

Waxing Autumn Leaves.— In preparing autumn leaves for their 
various ornamental uses, a frequently employed method is to coat the surfaces 
with oil or varnish ; but I believe it is universally conceded that this makes their 
hues unnaturally bright, and also that when put up in bunches or fastened to 
picture cords they will inevitably curl so as to afford you as full a view of the 
back as of the face of a leaf. The following plan, in my experience, obviates 
both of the above objections : 

The leaves are not to be pressed and dried in books, but freshly gathered ; 
use an ironing board or table and moderately heat a perfectly smooth flat iron 
(a polishing iron is best) ; rub a piece of yellov/ beeswax over the face of the 
iron and press each leaf until dry. The wax imparts just a natural gloss and 
stiffens the leaf sufflcienly to prevent curling. 

Another Metliod. — Another and similar plan is to place the leaves 
between sheets of paper, press with an iron and then draw them through wax 
melted on the surface of a hot plate. In this way they get a thicker coating of 
wax, and consequently a dimming of their colors, but all possibility of curling is 
obviated. 

Leaf Sutterflies. — When collecting autumn leaves, secure some of the 
very large and exquisitely tinted from the maple — such as are generally rejected 
because of their size and ragged edges — get them if possible in light green and 
lemon tints dotted with scarlet ; these being butterfly hues, will make the decep- 
tion more complete. 

Have a pattern of a butterfly, which is readily made by tracing its shape on 
tissue paper from any illustration ; lay the pattern on the leaf, using the center 
vein for the back of the butterfly ; cut and fasten it to a curtain or anywhere you 
want your butterfly to alight. 



€86 MOSSES AND MOSS ORNAMENTS. 

MOSSES AND MOSS ORNAMENTS. 



Forest Hosses. — Many girls who live in the country, in the midst of 
nature's wild beauties, do not fully appreciate the loveliness of the things 
around them. Ferns, grasses, flowers and mosses in the primitive forests are, 
many of them, possessed of the most exquisite structures, as close observation 
will verify. It is only when one has been taken away from the wild beauties 
that their worthy, charming peculiarities and perfections are realized. The tree 
moss, coral moss, rock moss, fir moss, club moss, etc., are all pretty ; at least 
some varieties in the different families are. 

To Preserve Ihe Color of Moss. — Any fresh green mosses, of which 
we find numberless lovely shades, may be gathered during the summer and 
dried so as to retain almost their full color and perfectness. Gather the moss 
carefully and lay it in a dark cellar, top downwards upon the earth. Let it 
remain so until perfectly dry, when it can be used in the make up of various 
rustic ornaments. It will mingle prettily with tree moss in making frames, 
pressed leaf bouquets, wreaths, etc. 

How to Dye Moss. — Gather the richest and nicest moss you can find. 
The feather moss is the prettiest for this. Carefully remove all dirt and sticks ; 
take an ounce of chrome green and mix with one half ounce of gum arable dis- 
solved in half a pint of water. Heat the mixture, but not boil. Dip the moss 
in while warm ; pick out the leaves and sprays, and lay upon a paper to dry. 

Care must be taken in using the pamt, as it is poisonous. If you have a large 
quantity of moss to dye, and the green does not seem dark enough, prepare a 
little more, and redip the moss. Family dyes may be used ; bottle green and 
leather colors are suitable. 

Crystallized Oray Moss Wreatli. — Cut a circle out of pasteboard and 
have it of sufficient width to sew the moss on. Fasten a wire around on one 
surface of it to hold it in perfect form. Before sewing dampen the moss, as it 
is otherwise too brittle to bear handling. 

In collecting, select that which is of coarse, open texture and stiff, as it will 
crystallize better than any other. Allow the wreath to become perfectly dry be- 
fore subjecting it to the alum solution, which is made by dissolving a pound of 
alum in a quart of hard water, heated. 

When cool the solution is ready for use. Hold the wreath in one hand over 
the kettle containing the alum water and with the cup repeatedly dip the water 
up over it, being careful to moisten the pasteboard as little as possible. By this 
plan more frost-like crystals will be formed than if the wreath were immersed 
in the solution. 

An anchor or cross may be made after the same general plan which will look 
as prettily as the wreath, and be perhaps more appropriate in certain positions. 



MOSSES AND MOSS ORNAMENTS. 6Z7 

nesign for a Moss Picture. — Take a piece of crayon board the size 
you wish, draw the outHnes of your design, paint a sky, gather different shades 
of moss and stick it on with thick varnish. An old tower, with a cross at the 
top, and bridges, can be made to look pretty if tastefully arranged. Take small 
sprigs of cedar to represent trees ; arrange it to represent autumn scenery. 

Any person of artistic taste can make handsome pictures in this way, or by 
suiting his own fancy. To represent rocks, take a small piece of wood, use a 
little paint ; have a deep frame made and put a glass over it, and it will be 
pretty for any sitting room in the city or country. 

To Make a Moss Frame. — A very pretty frame can be made of dry 
moss of a pale greenish color, generally found on beech trees and old logs in 
the woods ; the kind that has a rough and dingy appearance ; this is sometimes 
found also on decayed fruit trees as well as in the woods. 

Take soft wood, such as pine, or poplar — as wood is preferable to pasteboard 
on account of the warping of the latter ; shape it in any fancy design you wish ; 
make it smooth, and do not leave any knots or rough places on the wood work, 
as it will destroy the evenness of the surface. 

When you have done this, prepare the paste — flour paste is the best for the 
work. Stick the pieces of moss on as thick as you can, or at least until the 
woody portion of the frame is entirely hidden. If it is preferred, you can place 
a shell, a cluster of acorns, or any other similar ornament at the corners. 

To Make a Moss Cone. — Procure a cheese box and fasten to the center 
of it an upright staff sixteen inches high. Stretch over it a piece of coffee sack- 
ing, like forming a tent, tacking it down to the bottom inside, leaving a space of 
three inches all around. Fill this space with soil, mix in water equal parts of 
clay and ashes to the consistency of mortar, and plaster over -the cone, cover it 
while wet with moss of different shades of green from the woods. Plant ferns 
all around the bottom of the cone in the soil, and then cover the soil with moss. 
Keep this well watered and it will be beautiful. 

To Make tlie Moss Mat. — Take a man's old straw hat and rip three or 
four rows of braid from it, then fasten the ends on firm, and make a handle of 
it. Put pasteboard in the inside of the crown, then hne it with white paper, and 
cover it with moss. 

Flowering Hyaeintlis in Moss. — The hyacinth will revel in a bed of 
damp moss. The moss may be either used to fill pots, window boxes, or wire 
or other baskets. A wire basket in which four or five different varieties of 
hyacinths are planted, presents a very attractive appearance when suspended in 
a window or other part of the room. 

In filling the moss into the pots, boxes or baskets, it should be pressed 
moderately firm, and the hyacinths planted with one-third of their thickness 
above the surface. 

After planting, the moss should be watered sufficiently to thoroughly saturate 



688 MOSSES AND MOSS ORNAMENTS. 

it, and after the surplus water has run off, the baskets or other receptacles are 
to be placed away in some dark, cool place, such as a cellar, or dark closet, 
where the temperature does not exceed 50 degrees. 

In five or six weeks after planting, the moss will be found to be filled with 
roots, and the bulbs may then be taken from their dark quarters into the light ; 
and if kept in a temperature of 60 or 70 degrees, they will flower abundantly in 
three or four weeks after ; the moss must be kept moist at all times. 

The advantage of using moss for hyacinths, etc., is in its lightness and clean- 
liness in handling. The wire baskets, especially, when filled with moss, present 
a much more pleasing appearance than they would if filled with soil. 

^Vindo^v Moss Transparency. — A pretty transparency for the win- 
dow is made thus : Take a pin and prick on white paper the outline shape of 
a cross, surround with moss, then place this between two panes of glass, and 
bind together with a ribbon. 

Tlie Plate of Moss. — Fill a rather deep plate with some of the name- 
less but l>eautiful silvery and light green and delicate pink mosses, which are 
met with in profusion in all the swamps and marshes. This can be kept fresh 
and beautiful as long as it is not neglected to water it profusely once a day. 

It must of course, be placed in the shade, or the moss will blanch and die. In 
the center of this clump of moss should be placed some curious lichens and pretty 
fungus growth from the barks of forest trees, and a few cones, shells and pebbles. 

Ttie Tiimtoler of Moss. — Cover a common tumbler with cotton cloth, 
and then fasten pretty moss to that until it is completely covered. Then take a 
saucer and glue dried moss to its edge and outer surface and into the saucer set 
the tumbler, filling it and the remaining space in the saucer with loose earth 
from the woods. Plant the former with a variety of ferns, and the latter with 
wood violets. 

On the edge of the glass also plant some of the nameless little evergreen 
vine, which bears scarlet berries, and whose dark, glossy, ivy like foHage will 
trail over the fresh blue and white of the violets with beautiful effect. 

Imitation Moss ^Baskets. — The appearance of moss on the outside of 
ladies' baskets is produced by worsted of the same kind as that used for em- 
broidery in worsted. Four or five shades of green, and as many of brown, in 
regular gradations, should be selected ; the darkest shades of green being of an 
olive tinge, and the lightest of a yellowish hue in preference to grass green, 
which has not the yellow autumnal tint of the colors before mentioned. One 
skein of each color is sufficient for a pair of baskets. 

The shape or body of the basket is formed of pasteboard, and is usually round 
or oval, and made with or without a handle across, according to fancy. The 
pasteboard shape is covered inside and out with green silk ; and if a handle be 
affixed, it should be sewn on outside, where the joining will be covered by the 
moss, so that the silk may appear neat within. 



SHELL WORK. 689 

The worsted of each color should be wound into a separate ball, and knitted 
either flat or round like a stocking ; a piece of thread should then be passed, by 
means of a needle, through the last row of loops or stitches, and fastened at 
each end, in order to prevent the knitting from unraveling. 

The knit piece should then be thoroughly wetted and pressed with a warm 
iron until thoroughly dry. After this, the respective pieces must be unraveled 
and made up into small bunches, which are to be sewn so thickly on the silk, 
with which the outside of the basket is covered, as to leave no apparent space 
between them. 

Each bunch should be composed of about three shades of color, made up in 
the following manner : The several pieces of knitting being selected, a few rows 
of each are to be unraveled, and all the ends, being taken up at the same time, 
are to be held between the thumb of the left hand and the side of the hand, as 
low and near the joint as possible ; the upper part of the thumb being then 
shghtly relaxed, the worsteds are, with the right hand, wound around the 
thumb and finger of the left hand like a figure 8, and held in that position while 
the middle, including the ends with which it began and left off, is sewed to- 
gether with a piece of silk. 

The bunches should be placed in heaps, according to their respective shade, 
and sewn on the basket, according to taste, intermingling the views, so as to 
avoid the appearance of formality. 



SHELL WORK. 



Variety of Shells. — Many shells possess the lovehest tints upon their 
under surface ; some of rich crimson, deep orange, yellow, and rose colors, 
others black, with lines and spottings of various intense or delicate shades ; while 
many are furnished with an opalescent, pearly coat, that appears grievous to 
the lover of the beautiful to cover with cement and fasten down away from view. 
Mrs. Caroline S. Jones furnishes the author of this book with the following 
valuable suggestions and practical facts concerning the use of shells for orna- 
mental use : 

Shells with Mirrors. — An elegant object may be made whereby not only 
all the surface beauty of the shells is exposed, but their exquisite linings are 
reflected back and appear shimmering, as it were, in a pellucid lake. To make 
these charming ornaments, you require a stand covered with mirror and one of 
the glass shades used so largely for shielding various ornaments from dust and 
prying fingers. These may be, in this case, either the tall kind, or those sold 
under the name of pond lily shades. 

Around the edge of the mirror, within the space which the shade will cover, 



690 SHELL WORK. 

arrange a circle of sea-moss weeds, little shells and fragments of pretty rock 
coral and a sprinkling of " frosting." 

In the centre place a stand of wood, made of a central pole, as high as the 
shade will admit, with two or more hoops (of wood) fastened to four arms ex- 
tending out from the central post. For a pond lily shade of largest size, this 
central support should be about one inch, or even less, in diameter. 

TragacaiatBi Cement for Shell§. — Cover all the woodwork with moss, 
fastened on with shell cement, made by dissolving gum tragacanth and a little 
powdered alum, until thick as sirup, then adding to each teacupful a teaspoon 
half full of sugar of lead and plaster of Paris, to form a putty like paste. 

Oelatine Cesnent for §]aeEls. — Take common sheet gelatine and dis- 
solve it in sufficient water to make a mucilage as thick as sirup. Use a small 
quantity at a time, with sufficient plaster of Paris to make it very thick. 

Tlie Slaell I*yraiiiicl.-;-The shells are arranged to form a pyramid, with 
the largest in the centre, and the small ones grouped around and below it in 
successive tiers. A high and wide shade will accommodate five to eight tiers, 
but a pond lily stand will not hold more than two or three. 

The shells cemented to these circles present a most unusual effect, each under 
surface being distinctly reflected from the mirror below, with its mossy sur- 
roundings, upon which they appear to float as upon a sheet of water. 

B©xe§ aud jBrack.et§ of §l£ells. — We have taken wooden cases and 
frames of various kinds, and, covering them with shells, made elegant orna- 
ments of them. Many persons have an erroneous idea that shell work must 
necessarily be fragile ; whereas we have the most delicate specimens, which, 
being properly cemented, withstand the constant use of the feather duster, and 
even a careful washing sometimes. 

Ornamental elegancies may be covered and embellished with shells, cemented 
on or together so securely that they are quite as strong as though made of stone 
china. 

The plaster may be sufficiently thick to support the shells, but if too thick 
will have a clumsy appearance, and the parts exposed will not show as good a 
gloss when polished. It may be tinted with lavender by adding a little blue 
powder color ; violet by red and blue ; pink with rose pink ; salmon with Vene- 
tian red ; brown with burnt umber, etc. 

Crroupiiig Fancy §lielSs. — Success in this work mainly depends on taste 
in arrangement. For different purposes the arrangement will necessarily vary, 
but as a general rule, it is best to assort the shells into groups of form and color. 
Take, as a rule, those offered for arranging our flower beds — that of contrasting 
colors and shades of color — the glittering, opalescent, silvery, pale lavender 
and pale pink tints of pearly hue, have an equally superior value. 

Take oval, oblong and other figures, molded or bordered with shells of suit- 
able size and color, and as a rule apply them to plain surfaces, and they will 



SHELL WORK. 69I 

produce fine effects. Damaged, chipped and mended china ornaments may thus 
be renovated and made quite elegant; while pasteboard toilet boxes and like 
framework may be made into sets of most artistic appearance. 

Ornamenting^ CSock.§ with Shells.^We have taken one of the Gothic 
clocks with walnut cases, which are now in general use, and made it really ele- 
gant by covering with shells. First rub the whole surface with emery paper 
until quite rough, then cover spot by spot with cement, having the shells as- 
sorted in boxes, as just recommended, and place the shells where most effective. 

A good plan is to make a sketch upon a sheet of paper cut in the form of a 
clock. There are some shells which form elegant feet for such an article ; these 
are the beautiful univalves, curved into spiral scrolls. 

Now, with the halves of pretty colored bivalves, such as the exquisite " rose 
leaf," form a set of ornaments for the arch, with a rosette in the center, and a 
chain work, or series of tiny rosettes, down the inner edge ; outside of these, long 
spiral univalves, arranged with the point projecting. 

Cover the pointed turrets with small shells artistically arranged, or use long, 
spiral turitella, one for each. Arrange flowers or mosaic figures upon the center 
of the door, and small figures in the corners, with some border embellishment. 
Then fill in all the ground with small rice shells, not allowing a space the size of 
a pin point to remain bare. Use a small, pointed instrument, and press each 
little shell well into the cement. 

Below the door fasten the half of an oblong bivalve or other beautiful shell, 
selecting one of great beauty, with pearl lining, which makes a receptacle for 
the key, etc. ; while just above this arrange a group of shell flowers, or a little 
parian sea god, which may be procured from the fancy stores. 

Make a border of small black snail shells and yellow bivalves, then white uni- 
valves with pink bivalves within it. These arranged tastefully appear like a rich 
mosaic. The shells should first be carefully pohshed, first rubbing with pounded 
pumice stone, then polishing with oil and pulverized tripoli on a soft pad. 
When completed, varnish the surface with copal. 

Etchings Sunken Letters on gbells. — Initials, names, mottoes, floral 
and other designs can easily be made on ivory or shells by the simple use of 
acids. First cover the ivory with a thin but even coat of beeswax, or of a com- 
position made of the following ingredients : One ounce white resin, one-half 
ounce white wax, and two ounces of asphalt. 

After the ivory is thus prepared, draw the pattern selected with a finely 
pointed instrument or a sharp needle through the wax, so as to scratch the ivory 
slightly. Care must be taken that the coating is penetrated in ever}'- part of the 
tracery, or the work wfll be unsatisfactory. Then cover the surface with strong 
muriatic acid, allowing it to remain about four hours. Wash off with water, 
and rub off the wax with turpentine, when the drawing will appear as if cut 
with an engraver's tool. 



692 VARIOUS FANCY ARTICLES. 

Before attempting a large and elaborate design, it is best to experin:ient on a 
small bit of ivory, as, owing to the uncertain strength of the acid, the time re- 
quired may be longer or shorter. Shells require a weaker acid than ivory. 
Strong acetic acid, or diluted muriatic or nitric, serve equally well. 

A thin coating of common varnish is frequently used to protect the shells, and 
in order to clearly see the design the varnished shell is blackened over a flame 
before beginning the drawing. The varnish is washed off with turpentine. 

Btcliini^ Raised Letters on Shells. — Instead of sunken letters and 
figures, raised ones can be produced on shells by making the designs with var- 
nish by means of a fine brush. Then, when the acid is applied, it will dissolve 
the surface of the shell around the varnished lines, leaving the design in relief. 
No fixed, rule can be given as to how long the acid should be applied to shells, 
as they vary greatly in hardness. Exercise your judgment. 

By this etching process, many ivory articles can be beautifully decorated, and 
various shells made more ornamental. Even a pair of common clam shells, 
bleached to pearly whiteness, with a raised monogram or motto on the outside, 
and a dainty marine view painted in delicate water colors on the inside surface, 
would be a unique and highly prized gift. 



VARIOUS FANCY ARTICLES. 



Oilded Macrame Work Basket. — Use Macrame cord No. 12, 
and begin crocheting as for a lamp mat, in solid rows, all long stitches, without 
any chain between, and widening only enough to keep it flat ; do not have the 
mat the least mite full. This is for the bottom of the basket, and as a guide 
for the size, and to shape the sides of the basket, select a tin pan seven or eight 
inches in diameter, and two and one-quarter or two and one-half inches deep. 

Lay your mat on the outside of the bottom of the pan, and when you have 
crocheted it the same size, widen the next row a little more and shape the 
sides of your basket by the sides of the pan, making sure, by frequent trials, 
that you are not widening too much, and so having the sides flare too much. 

Finish the top edge with a scallop, and having drawn the basket over the 
outside of the pan, proceed to stiffen it by thoroughly saturating the cord with 
thin, hot glue. Before the glue is thoroughly set, remove the basket from the 
pan, and if its inside surface is not coated with glue, brush some over it. 

When the glue is quite dry, the basket will be found as firm as willow, and 
the outside must have a coat of gilding or gold paint. Line the inside with pink, 
blue or golden brown satin, make a shallow pillow-shaped cushion of the same 
three and one-half inches long and two inches wide ; paint or embroider some 
forget-me-nots or tiny flowers on it, and tack it to the side of the basket with a 



VARIOUS FANCY ARTICLES. 



693 



full bow of satin ribbon. A smaller basket, say five inches in diameter, simi- 
larly made, constitutes a dainty holder for spools of silk or thread. 

Natural acorns, that are given first a coat of chrome yellow, and then gilded 
with gold paint (see page 529), make a unique addition to a basket, tacked to 
the side or attached to a satin bow. 




PERFORATED CARDBOARD CROSS. 



Perforated Cardboard Cros§. — The illustration furnishes a complete 
pattern of this cross, and represents it exactly as it will look when cut from the 
cardboard and laid over black velvet or cloth, excepting that it will be larger 
than the engraving. If the purpose is to frame the cross, get white cardboard 
and lay it on a smooth piece of table or wooden board. 

Have sharp the small blade of a penknife, and referring to the illustration, be- 
gin at the top to cut out the bits of cardboard between the holes. By counting 



694 VARIOUS FANCY ARTICLES. 

the holes, which are plainly designated, there will not be any mistake in repro- 
ducing a cross like the engraving. It has a pretty effect laid over black cloth 
or velvet and framed in a passepartout, which is not expensive. 

If it is desired to use the cross for a book mark, get very fine cardboard, which 
will make the cross smaller, and when cut, tack it to the end of a blue or rose 
colored satin ribbon, which has first been fringed out the depth of an inch. The 
cross is to depend from the edges of the book when closed. 

Catcli All. — A slender tumbler of pure crystal or tinted glass, with an out- 
side cover crocheted of Macrame and gilded, and finished with a silk ball at 
the bottom and ribbon handle at the top, makes a pretty receptacle for trifles, or 
for water in which to grow ivy. 

Flower Crock Cover, — Covers for flower crocks are crocheted of 
Macrame cord, stiffened and gilded. The shaping is perfectly simple to one 
who has even a slight knowledge of crocheting. 

Case for a Ball of Striiig.-^Crochet six chain stitches of Macrame 
cord No. 12, join and then crochet three chain, which is equal to one long 
stitch, and into the circle formed by the first six chain proceed to put thirteen 
long stitches without any chain between, and join to the three chain ; this 
gives an unbroken circle, and to effect this in each succeeding row, crochet 
three chains first upon starting a row. Have a whole ball of twine, or one of 
pink or blue wrapping cord, and continue to crochet a cup-shaped covering for 
it, regulating the size to suit the ball of string, which is done by not widening 
nearly as much as for a flat mat, but just sufficient to increase the size and keep 
it cupping. Crochet the cup to cover a little more than half the ball of string, 
which will require about six rows. Now make another cup exactly like first by 
count, stitch for stitch. 

Stiffen these by saturating with hot, thin glue, and when dry, gild with gold 
paint (see page 529). Then into one of the cups lay your ball of string and 
pass the end of it down through the hole in the bottom, whence it will unwind 
from the center of the ball. Lay the other cup on top of the one containing the 
ball, so that the two edges meet and hold them together by passing a half-inch 
blue or pink ribbon in and out from one to the other, ending with a bow ° 
attach a bow and loop of ribbon to the top of upper cup to hang by. 

Velvet Panel§. — The bareness of parlor door panels may be given an 
effective and artistic relief in the following manner : Cut a piece of thin board 
or heavy pasteboard a trifle smaller than the panels, cover with black velvet 
and arrange on it bright autumn leaves. Maple and small sumac leaves, which 
adopt such brilliant hues when frost comes, are desirable. If the leaves are 
waxed, as described on page 685, they. will produce the best effect against the 
black velvet ; or autumn leaves made entirely of wax, particularly woodbine 
sprays and berries, are beautiful. Fasten the velvet panel with invisible tacks 
or black pins to the door panel which it fits. Dark olive or black cloth can be 



VARIOUS FANCY ARTICLES. 695 

used instead of velvet ; a black velvet panel, say fourteen inches long and seven 
and one-half inches wide, is handsome, resting on a small easel or hung upon 
the wall. A cluster of the dried pink marguerites, to be had at a florist's, with 
a few tiny ferns, is particularly pretty upon black, and upon blue velvet a cluster 
of dry white field daisies. For these wall panels, it is first necessary,of course, 
to have the panel cut from thin, dry board — with edges beveled — which cover 
with the velvet. 

When natural flowers and leaves are not obtainable, a fine quality of artifi- 
cials are used upon these panels, as some glowing poppies on dark blue, or pink 
crushed roses on wine velvet. 

Olass Door Covering-. — In case of a half-glass door, when it is desired 
to exclude observation from the other side, or for the sake of the exquisite effect 
it has in a delicately furnished room, blue satin is employed in the following 
manner : 

Having a sufficient quantity of blue satin, proceed to attach it to the wood- 
work surrounding the glass with gimp tacks, laying tiny pleats one inch and a 
half apart. Cover these tacks and edges with upholsterers' gimp. Gather the 
satin in the center of the glass panel, drawing tight and covering raw edges 
with a rosette of bias satin. 

Thermometer Panel of Plusli.— Have a panel cut ten and one-half 
inches long and seven and one-half inches wide, from dry white wood or cherry 
lumber, planed to one-half inch thickness. Have the edges beveled one-half 
inch on front surface nearly to back edge. Procure a quarter of a yard of plush 
and in one corner embroider a small spray of flowers ; a bunch of daisies or 
clematis on blue plush and wild roses of satin or ribbon on wine plush are 
effective. 

After the embroidery is done, spread the plush smoothly on the wood panel 
and hold it so by means of pins driven in lightly an inch apart and about half 
an inch back from the edge all around. Now turn the panel back side up on a 
table and fasten down the edges of the plush with good mucilage or glue ; a 
piece of black paper muslin can then be fastened on in the same way, so as to 
cover the entire back part and so conceal the rough edges of the plush. 

Do not remove the pins for half a day at least, to be sure the glued edges are 
thoroughly dry. Now get a small thermometer and use only the metal plate which 
supports the mercur}' bulb and tube, the tm or wooden frame being removed. 
This can be obtained without frame, if you desire, where artists' materials are 
kept on sale. Fasten the plate to the plush panel by very small tack or tiny 
ribbon bows. Place it in an upper or lower corner, as the space seems best 
suited to it with reference to the spray of flowers; complete the panel by an 
artistic bow of satin ribbon on one corner and hang by means of a loop of rib- 
bon tacked on the back. Velvet can be used instead of plush and the size 
regulated to suit the fancy. 



696 VARIOUS FANCY ARTICLES. 

To Repair a Thermometer. — Not unfrequently a thei-mometer gets 
injured by falling ; the tube perhaps not broken, but the mercury separated or 
is broken up in the tube. In such a case, place the bulb of the thermometer in a 
cup of water on the stove ; then allow the water to heat until the mercury is 
forced to the top ; then remove, and when it settles the column will go down 
unbroken. 

To Make a Fan Wheel. — Get three common paper fans with black 
sticks. Select them all of a deep cardinal shade, or have one cardinal, one pink 
and one black. Remove the wire which holds the black sticks together at the 
end, which is grasped by the hand in using the fan. Remove also the two outer 
black sticks which extend from the open to the closed end of the fans, one on 
each side. 

Have ready a piece of pasteboard four or five inches square ; a portion of an 
old box will answer. Close one of the fans at the paper end, grasp tightly be- 
tween the thumb and finger, and fasten it so with a few stitches ; then with a 
few more stitches tack this end of the fan to the center of the pasteboard. At 
the point where the black sticks issue from the paper part, spread the fan to its 
utmost capacity, and hold it so by stitches passed through into the pasteboard. 

Repeat this process with the other two fans, and you will have a wheel- 
shaped affair which is to be finished off by passing inch or inch and a half wide 
satin ribbon in and out between the black sticks close to the paper part of the 
fans. It must be understood that the hand end of the sticks are now the outer 
surface. End the ribbon with a bow at the side, and place a pretty bow over 
the point where the fans were tacked to the center of the pasteboard. 

A gold cord or an extremely narrow ribbon may be passed through the rivet 
holes, which will be found in the sticks about one inch from their ends. The 
ornament is just as effective without this addition, however. If pink, black 
and cardinal fans are used, wine satin ribbon is a good combination, and with all 
cardinal fans, gold color ribbon. Two or three rows of inch-wide ribbon may 
be used instead of one, and colors selected to please the fancy. These fan 
wheels are usually placed high up on the wall, over doors, etc., and make an 
effective ornament. 

Horn Cornncopia. — Some cow's horns are very beautiful, so smooth and 
rich in coloring that they cannot be improved by etching, carving or staining. 
When it is not the good fortune to get one of these, it may be made ornamental 
by cutting any design you like upon it, after having first softened the horn by 
allowing it to lie in a solution of caustic soda or potash. The lye may be made 
almost any strength ; the weaker, the longer it will be necessary for it to remain 
in the solution. Wash when taking it out, and cut the design ; then dry and 
color. 

I have never tried the experiment, but beheve that the etching process, as 
given for ivory and shells, page 691 will answer as well for horn. For methods 



VARIOUS FANCY ARTICLES. 697 

of Staining, see pages 210 and 211. To dye horn the aniline colors may be used. 
After the work of cutting and staining has been completed, put in two picture 
frame screws, as shown in the engraving, and attach a ribbon to correspond in 
color to the horn, to suspend the cornucopia by. 

The end should be finished by a piece of silk or satin put on so as to gather, 
as illustrated. This end material may be fastened to the horn by the use of 
glue or good mucilage. The contraction is made by means of a narrow ribbon 
passed through the silk m and out. 

To Make a Perfume Satchel.— Take three-eighths of silk of any light 
shade and quilt it in tiny diamonds ; of this cut two diamond-shaped pieces, 
also two of cotton batting ; have ready an ounce of dry perfume, place it be- 
tween the layers of cotton, and inclose the whole within the two pieces of silk 
t>y sewing together the edges. Finish with a quilling of ribbon and bows. 

Instead of having both sides of the satchet of quilted silk, one may be em- 
broidered with an initial or small bouquet. To derive full benefit of the per- 
fume, the satchet should be kept in a perfectly tight glove or handkerchief box. 

Imitation Sno^v Ball. — An imitation of the snow ball shrub may be 
made very cheaply, and, if rightly arranged and proportioned, very pretty. Set 
up a wooden standard of the desired height, say twenty inches, and the size of 
the little finger ; through this make angling holes with a small awl, and into* 
these put wires for branches of various lengths, from eight to fifteen inches. 
The wires should be bent arching a little, and large enough to support them- 
selves when laden with artificial leaves and flowers. 

The branches should be set nearer perpendicular than horizontal ; nature will 
be the best guide. Wind the whole with green paper, and put on leaves made 
of the same material, carefully patterned after the natural. 

For the snow balls, make small balls of candle wicking, and cover them with 
the scrapings of cow horn. The horn should be clear and white, and the 
scrapings carefully fastened on to the ball until it is entirely covered. Nothing 
more will be required to make the shavings stay upon the ball than to hook the 
ends into the cotton. 

To Copy Embroidery Patterns. — It often happens that those who 
do stamping for embroidery and braiding at fancy stores, do not have the pat- 
terns desired or adapted to certain parts and corners of garments of different 
sizes, and it is important to know how to copy patterns that are to the purpose 
found in the fashion journals. We often see exquisite designs, particularly of 
braiding, intended for various parts of a lady's apparel and fancy articles. 

To copy these, first make a drawing upon paper, if it is desired to preserve 
the original print, then lay the drawing upon an even cloth, and perforate all 
the lines with a needle close and even. Then take finely powdered charcoal 
ihree parts, resin one part in fine powder ; mix and tie it in a piece of porous 
muslin, so as to form a dusting bag. 



VARIOUS FANCY ARTICLES. 



Lay the perforated drawing upon your material, and fasten firmly at each 
corner by driving pins through it into the board or table you are using. Rub 




THE HORN CORNUCOPIA. 



the dusting bag over the perforations, which will permit the dust to fall through 
the holes, and thus outline the pattern. 



VARIOUS FANCY ARTICLES. 699 

After carefully removing the paper drawing, lay blotting paper over the dust 
pattern and go over it w^ith a warm flat-iron. The heat will melt the resin and 
fix the pattern. If the cloth to be embroidered is black, use finely pulverized 
chalk in place of the charcoal. 

Silver Paper ShaTing^ Case. — A simple and pretty case may be made 
of the silver paper canvas. Cut two pieces, each eight inches long and five and 
one-half inches wide. Upon one piece embroider with single zephyr or filling 
silk, any simple pattern. The lightest shade of blue, pink, or a wine scarlet, 
are colors that look well on the silver paper. 

Before lining the two pieces with silk, either round the corners or cut them 
off, according to the shape you prefer. Now finish the embroidered piece by 
sewing around the edge a quilling of satin ribbon, and supplying each corner 
with a tiny bow. 

Get several sheets in different colors of tissue paper, fold and cut a trifle 
smaller than your pieces of silver paper ; have the edges of the tissue paper 
pinked or notched, and place it between the pieces of silver canvas, when a few 
stitches will fasten the whole together at the top, to which attach a ribbon for 
hanging against the wall. If it is desired to put an elaborate pattern on this 
case, the common perforated cardboard would best suit such a purpose. 

Orape L<eaf Sliaving Case. — For a pattern take a grape leaf. Lay it 
upon some cardboard and draw its outlines with a pencil. Cut two leaves, also 
tissue paper, the same shape. For one case it will take about six sheets of 
tissue paper — red, white, green, yellow, brown and blue. Fold them four or 
eight times, according to size. 

Cover your cardboard with green silk and overcast the edge or bind with 
ribbon. Imitate the veins of the leaf with long stitches of green sewing silk. 
The tissue paper grape leaves (upon which the razor is to be wiped) are inserted 
between the covers, and there must be a loop of ribbon at the stem end by which 
to hang it up. 

To Copy Butterfly "Wings. — Take pure collodion and brush it upon 
good stout paper ; then with a pair of forceps take the wings of the butterflies 
and brush them over also with collodion ; now place the wings in their natural 
position upon the paper. Both operations should be done quickly, as the col- 
lodion rapidly dries. 

By the agency of collodion the wings adhere to the paper, but when it is dry 
and the wings are removed by forceps from it, the color scales of the butterflies' 
wings adhere to the paper. The body of the insect can then be drawn in crayon 
or pencil. Its natural resemblance can thus be preserved for any time. 

To Make Featlier Flowers. — A lady writer says she never uses paints 
or dyes, except to represent green leaves, and has made handsome wTeaths and 
bouquets without a single feather except the natural colors. For white, use 
goose feathers ; for yellow, the feathers from the breast of the meadow lark ; 



700 



VARIOUS FANCY ARTICLES. 



for scarlet, peel off the red from the blackbird's or bobolink's wing and press it 
out flat until it dries, and you will have a fine double flower, which only needs a 
wire stem. Prairie chicken and Guinea fowl feathers make nice mottled flowers. 
Pea-fowl feathers answer nicely for green, and some of the feathers on its body 
make beautiful velvety flowers. 

Use two sizes of the wire — the coarser for stems and the finer to wind the 
stem of each petal of such flowers as roses before they are formed into flowers. 
Get the natural flowers you wish to imitate and pick them to pieces for patterns. 
Wind the stems with green tissue paper and form into wreaths or bouquets. 

To Make a Clotll Rabbit. — The material required for a cloth rabbit 
is a quarter of a yard of white or gray Canton flannel, with very long nap ; a 
tin box the size of a small pill box — box must have a tight fitting cover ; cotton 
for stuffing ; two small white beads with red eyes, if you make a white rabbit ; 
a gray one requires black beads ; for a white rabbit a small quantity of pink 






PATTERNS FOR CLOTH RABBIT. 



•cambric to line the ears ; for a gray one, line ears with the same, being careful 
to leave the fuzzy or wrong side out. 

Cut of the Canton flannel two pieces the shape of fig. i, six and a half inches 
long and three and a half inches wide at the widest place, allowing a little for 
ceams. Now place the two pieces together evenly and seam on the machine to 
A in the back and B in the front. Cut one piece like fig. 2, four and three- 
fourth inches long and three and a half wide at widest place, cutting a slit in it 
up to F. Now join fig. 2 to fig. i, by placing the part marked D exactly at B; 



VARIOUS FANCY ARTICLES. 70I 

the narrow end, or E, will then come at A. Use a long, slim lead pencil to 
push in the cotton, as the rabbit must be stuffed very full. 

Begin stuffing after you have seamed the rabbit form up, excepting the slit 
from D to F. After you have the stuffing half done, push in the tin box, in 
which you have previously placed three or four small buttons. Stuff just as full 
as the form will hold, and then close up the slit by turning in the edges and 
whipping neatly on the right side. 

Cut four pieces like fig. 3, two of pink cambric and two of the white Canton 
flannel, if you are making a white rabbit. Paste the pink cambric lining for the 
ear forms on the right side ; use mucilage or a small quantity of starch. 

When dry, place the bottom part of the ear at the proper point on each side 
of the head. The ears are folded together at the narrow point, and are sewed 
so as to incline back a very little ; sew on glass beads for eyes. Take a long^ 
stitch back and forth three or four times with pink split zephyr to represent nose 
and mouth. At A sew a twisted tuft of cotton for the tail. The rabbit is now 
complete. 

Crystallizing^ Oras§e$. — Almost any kind of grass looks well when crys- 
talHzed, but the long feathery grasses give the most satisfaction, as they are 
ornamental when only partially covered with the alum, while the others should 
be covered completely. When you have gathered all you wish and dried them 
thoroughly, you can either crystallize them before forming them into a bouquet 
or make the bouquet first and crystallize it afterward. 

Pulverize a pound of the best alum, and dissolve it over a slow fire in a quart 
of pure soft water. Do not let it boil, and be very careful to keep everything" 
out of the solution that can possibly stain it, for the beauty of the grasses de- 
pends on the pure whiteness of the crystals. A new earthen bowl is the best 
dish for the purpose. When the alum is all dissolved, let the solution cool down 
to a little more than blood heat ; meanwhile arrange your grasses in a bowl 
and pour the solution over them, cover up, and set away for a few hours. Then 
take them out carefully, dry them in the sun four or five hours, and put them in 
the vase prepared for them. Do not move them for several days. After a little 
practice the work can be done to perfection. The time for the grasses to re- 
main in and the warmth of the solution are the most important ; if they stay in 
too long the coating will become heavy. 

The grasses should be removed when sufficient alum is deposited upon them. 
Small crystals look the best, and in order to keep them so, the grass should be 
often moved and turned about. The crystals may be made of different colors 
by using for blue a small piece of indigo ; for red use carmine, or vermilion. 

Crystallized grasses, when mixed with everlasting flowers, make beautiful 
winter bouquets. Snowdrops, or wax berries, the seed vessels of wild roses, 
and asparagus branches covered with their scarlet fruitage may be used with fine 
effect. Many bright colored berries may be gathered from the swamps and 



702 . VARIOUS FANCY ARTICLES. 

marshy places to contrast brilliantly with the metallic snowy luster of the alum 
crystals. Of these, none are more showy than clusters of bitter-sweet. 

To Color or §tain Dried Ora§s. — There are few prettier ornaments, and 
none more economical and lasting, than bouquets of dried grasses, niingled with 
unchangeable flowers. They have but one fault, and that is the want of other 
colors besides yellow and drab or brown. To var}- their shade, artificially, 
these flowers are sometimes dyed green. This, however, is in bad taste, and 
unnatural. The best efl'ect is produced by blending rose and red tints together 
with a very little pale blue, with the grasses and flowers as they dry naturally. 

The best means of dyeing dried leaves, flowers and grasses, is simply to dip 
them into the spirituous Hquid solution of the various compounds of aniline 
Some of these have a beautiful rose shade ; others, red, blue, orange and purple. 
The depth of color can be regulated by diluting, if necessary, the original dyes 
with methyl or alcohol down to the shade desired. 

When taken out of the dye they should be exposed to the air to dry off the 
spirit. They then require arranging, or setting into form, as, when wet, the 
petals and fine filaments have a tendency to cling together, which should not 
be. The druggists supply the simple dyes of aniline of various colors at a small 
cost. 

Seed Ornaments. — Very pretty rustic ornaments may be made of the 
seeds of the farm and garden. The white seed of the pumpkin, golden kernels 
of corn, different pits of melons, apple seeds, peach pits, white, red, and spotted 
beans, wheat and oats, buckwheat and broom corn, may be so curiously and in- 
geniously blended as to make leaves and flowers, scallops and points, and when 
varnished have a rich appearance. 

Nuts and pebbles may be used also. There are some very handsome frames 
covered with pebbles from the brooks, and the seeds of flowers ; and exquisite 
bouquets may be formed of the same materials. 



INDEX 



PAGE 

^olian harp, to make 246 

Afghan sofa 635 

Alloy, for bells 239 

" for models 239 

" for journal boxes 241 

Aniline bronzing fluid 244 

Animals, ref ractoi-y 438 

Ants, to drive away 651 

Apron, stocking 613 

Apiarjr, the 85 

Aquarium, filling 270 

" how to make 269 

cement 200 

Arrows, how to make 287 

Arrow for cross gun 289 

Ash sifter, cheap 246 

'• receiver, fancy 243 

" leach, to make 603 

Asphaltum walks 76 

Ax, chopping 415 

" loosening on helve 415 

" how to hang 416 

*' care of 416 

" double bitted 416 

Axletree, light iron 360 

taper of 351 

" length of S60 

" repairing broken 360 



Bag frame 

" holder, to make 

" for striking 

' ' scrap 

Balloon, how to make 

" how to send up 274, 

Banjo, plush covered 

Bark vase 

Barrels, hooping 

" painting 

" for packing poultry 

" charring 

" forpork 121- 

" management of...' 

'• wine 

" cider 

" cleaning 

' ' for storing cabbage 

" musty 

" for sap 

Barrel, press for. 

" trap 

" dray for 

Barometer, home-made . 

" paper 

Barns, construction of 

Barn, farm. 

" thrashing floor... . 

" manure cellars 

" root cellars 

* ' to fumigate 

" how burned 

" truck 

Barndof >r fastenings 

Barnyard scraping 

Bars upon farm 

" horizontal 

" parallel , 



PAGE 

Bars, how to make 410, 411 

Baskets, hanging 555, 556, 558, 559, 560 

" moss 688 

Basket, lawn flower 559 

' ' for wood 562 

" for hiving bees 87 

gilded 692 

" for grape keeping 510 

wall 557 

' ' coral imitation 557 

" fancy worsted 561 

" bird-"' nest 559 

crystal 563 

' ' corn husk 561 

cap 611 

" straw, fancy 560 

Bean poles 253 

Becoming a mechanic 11 

Beds, corn husk 548 

" feather, airing 548,549 

Bed tick, washing 548, 549 

" spreads, cheap 550 

' ' qnilt, to cover 550 

" comfort, to make 550 

Beets, storing for winter 467 

Bee feeder 88 

" hive stand 87 

" hive, home-made 85 

Bees, hiving 87 

Beehouse for winter 88 

Beeswax, to bleach 588 

Beetle, how to make 402 

Bellows, care of 247 

Bells on tlie farm 482 

" alloy for 239 

Belts, cement for 202 

' ' castor oil for ..128 

' ' sewing machine . . 239 

" fastenings of 244 

Bench, vise 23 

Bending timber 30, 31 

Benzine for paintmg 149 

Bins for cellars 73 

Hitsof bridle 139 

Blackboard, how to make 124 

'• size of 124 

paint for 124, 125 

Black walnut poll sh 185 

plaster, how to make 125 

Blacking for stoves 649 

Blankets, to wash 549 

airing r)50 

Blanketing horses 439 

Bleaching fabrics 587, 58S 

flnid 588 

' ' forest ferns 588 

' ' beeswax 588 

a straw hat 587 

Board roofs 332 

' • fence lor swamps 66 

" fence, olrl 66 

" fence, lumber required for 

' ■ fence, fire proof 

' ' fence sagging 

" fence, building 

" fence, field 

" fence, repairing 



65 



64 



704 



INDEX. 



Board fence, portable 

" and wire f(!nce 

" watron, seat to make 

" walks 

" stretcher f(jr skins 

Boards, newly sawed 

'• sawing 

Boat making 

Bob sled, home-made 

Boiler scales, to prevent 

Boilers, corroding 

" varnish for 

Bolts, how to put in 

" as rivets 

" for carriages 

Bombazine, to wash 

Boomerang, how to make and throw 

" paper 

Books to marble edges 

Boot soles 

' ' rack 

Boots, squeaking 

Bottles, to clean 

Bottling seeds 

" cider 

eggs 

Bow, Indian, to make 

" fancy 

' • for crossgun 

" stretcher for skins 

Bowlders, how to burst 

" burying 

" moving 

" uses for 

Box for martins 

for nails 

for scraps 

for steaming timber 

for grapes 

for bedroom 

for wheelbarrow 

for measuring 

for newspapers 

trap, 
■ing. 

wagon 351- 

fastening for sled 
marking, for poultry, 
flower, 
vase. 

propagating 

toilet 

wood, for parlor 

handkerchief 

portable flower 

collar 

wall 

scouring 

miter 

ornamentation 

Boxes for pigeon nest 

" for bulbs 

" for window flowers 

" for strawberries 

" for poultry packing 

" for cow feeding 

" for-tall= 

'■ of shells 

" Japan, to imitate 

'' old cigar 

" journal 

" wood pile 

Boys' department 

Brass, polish on 214, 

" to silver 

" to bronze 

" to color black 

" how to soften 

" how to melt 



PAGE 

Brass, to make brilliant 214 

lirace and bits, se]e<^ting 22 

' ' for kicking horse 242 

Branches, to restore broken 651 

Brackets, of shells 690 

' • butternut 541 

rustic 542 

Brad hammer 1 42' 

Britannia poliwh 188' 

Bridle bits, leather 139 

' ' adjustable 139 

Brine, old 462 

Brick walls, damp 43 

" walls, building , 43; 

" per foot, in walls 45 

work, pointing 45- 

" houses, color for 46 

" work, painting 150 

" wash 163 

' ' ovens, outdoor 486- 

Bricks, rubbing down 44 

Bridge, fresh<^t 240 

Bronze, black for 245 

Bronzing fluid, aniline 244 

" plaster, cast 244 

Broom, how to select 650 

" management of 650 

' ' to hang ... 650 

" for carpet cleaning 650 

" corn seed, preparing 504 

" com frame 481 

Brushes, paint, selecting 160 

" washing 159 

" varnish 169 

" striping, how to make 161 

handles for 160 

" how to bridle 160 

" improving.new 160 

' ' wipin-i 160 

" keeping 159 

" care of 159 

hair 651 

Brushing in clover seed 504 

Brush fence, to make 400 

" feather 652 

Buckle holes 140 

Buckets, to clean 617 

" for sap 430 

Buckskin, how to tan 306 

Budding trees and vines 110, 111 

Buildings, repairing 42 

Burglar alarm, cheap 248 

Butter, how to make 641 

" working 642,643 

" keeping 643 

Butterfly wings, to copy 699 

Burdock, to kill 505 

Cabbage, storing, for winter 467 

Cage for rabbits 266 

Calcimine, how to 167, 168 

Calico, to starch 585 

Camp_ out, how to 494 

Canning cider 458 

' ' corn 653 

" fruit 654 

Candles, how to make 651 

Cannon, how to mold 291 

Cape, how to knit 639 

Caps for hriv 384 

Cap basket 611 

" sweeping, to make 652 

Carriage timber 426 

'• tops care of 133 

" covering 135 

" glass, cleaning 133 

Carriages, management of 13*2, 133 

" injured by the sun 133 

" loose bolts in 133. 



INDEX. 



705 



PAGE 

Carriages, oil for 134 

" rattling 135 

Carload, quantity for 502 

Cardboard cross C93 

Carving, how to do it 656 

Carpet, cleaning, with broom 650 

Carpets, to sweep 540 

" rag 5:i7, 538 

" yellow, for 596 

" to take grease out 539 

" moths in 540 

" taking up 540 

" to clean ^ 538 

" to mop 538 

" renewing color in 539 

" removing tar from 539 

" stair 539 

Cask, cellar 75 

Cast iron, to split 245 

Case for bull of string 694 

Castor oil for leather 2:^5 

Cattle, how to lead 445 

Catch for door 512 

'' box 610 

" all 694 

Ceilings, filling cracks in 240 

•€elery, storing for winter 465 

'' for present u^j^e 466 

Cellar, farm house 315 

" drainage 73 

" bottoms 73 

" windows 73 

" of a cask 75 

Cellars, construction of 72 

" upground 73 

" for roots 328 

" bins for 73 

" outdoor, for roots 329 

" underground 72 

" to disinfect 647 

" for manure 328 

" shelves in 73 

Cementing, hints for 195 

Cements, application of 194 

" value of 194 

Cement, mastic 195 

" sealing wax 194 

shellac 195 

" rice flour 195 

" white lead 195 

litharge 196 

dry 196 

" waterproof 195 

" -Chinese 196 

" acid proof 196 

" clay 196 

" alum and plaster 197 

" lime 196 

" gelatine 196 

" red lead 198 

" white 197 

" elastic 197 

" hard 197 

" iron to wood 206 

" fireproof 205 

" gasfittiTS' 200 

" "pitch 199 

" for cast iron 206 

" paint 164 

'* walks 76 

" milk, for dishes 617 

" cheese lime 200 

" sulphide of carbon 202 

" aquarium 200 

" storm 198 

" for amber 197 

" for leakages 197 

" for shells 690 

" for marble 198 



PAGE 

Cement, for cloth 198 

" for iron retorts 206 

" for stove pipes 206 

" for movable jomts 206 

" for glass 203, 204 

" for iron pipes 205 

" for steam joints 205 

" for leather 201, 202 

" for lamps 200 

for stone 201-205 

" for hones 201 

" for tortoise shells 200 

" • for silk 199 

" for jewels 199 

' ' for roofs 199 

" for chimneys 50 

" for knife handles 198 

" for rubber 203 

Charcoal, to make 504 

Chair rocker, renewing 520 

" cover, embroidered 611 

" for holding sheep 446 

' ' home-made 519 

Chairs, improving 103 

" repairinsj^ 103 

" cane seat, to clean 103 

" use for old 102 

" rustic 103 

Check straps 140 

Cheese factory, plan of 477 

" factory, Jocarion for 477 

" factory, size of 477 

" factory presses 480 

" factory windows 480 

" factory walls 480 

" press, improvised 454 

" pre.«s, simple 645 

" making 643 

" curd, managing 644 

pressing 644 

" double curd 643 

' ' skimmed milk 644 

" extracting whey from 645 

" curd, scalding 645 

" rennet for G45 

" curing 644 

" keeping after cutting 645 

" tub, to make 645 

Checker-board rug 568 

" glass, to make 252 

" screen 612 

Chisels, selecting 14 

Chisel handles, putting on 13 

" for ice cutting 514 

China, to mend 618 

" gloss, how to make 154 

Chimney, how to see up 252 

Chimneys, construction of 50 

" size of 51 

" topping out 51 

" burning out 52 

" smoking 51 

" narrow fines in 51 

" wire gauze for 51 

" lamp to toughen 625 

Chromos, mounting 525 

" to clean 525 

" to displiy 525 

" varnish for 174 

Churning butter 642 

Cistern drains 106 

" coverings 106 

" filters 106 

" screens 106 

" to disinfect 647 

Cisterns, construction of 104 

styleof 104 

" how to measure 105, 449 

" dirt walls 105 



7o6 



INDEX. 



Circular saw, sharpening 

Citron, to preserve 

Cider, iipples for 

" ponince, managing 

" coloring ". 

" casks for 

" how to keep 457, 458, 

Clamp, cheap 

" in gluing 

" for harness 

Cleaning poultry house 

" seed oats 

Clocks, how to clean 

" how to repair 

" simple alarm 

" how to level 

" ornamenting with shells 

Cloth, black, coating for 

" waterproof, to make 

" to raise nap on 

" to bleach 587, 

" to revive 

" rabbit, to make 

Clothes rack 

" how to brush 

" to clean 

" to repair 

" to remove mildew from 

" receiver 

Coal, shelter for 

Coat, old, to renovate 

" collar, to cleau 

Cobs as stock feed 

Coins, to test 

" to take impressions of 

Colts, to 1 ireak 

" to halter break 

" to bit 

Collar, hor-e, to fit 

Collars, how to button 

Colors, harmony of 

" mixing 

Color wash 

Coloring dried grasses 

" kid gloves 632, 

" skins 

" cider 

Cold chisels, tempering 

" from files 

Cold frame, how to make 

Concrete walls 

Coop, rustic 

" for fancy birds 

Coops for chickens 

" portable 

Corduroy road, to build 

Copying butterfly wings 

Copper, to weld 

' ' enamel for 

" bronzing 

" color, to dye 

Corn cutter, best 

" cutting 388- 

" marker cheap 

" mariner wheel 

" stalks, hauling 

" shocking 

" jack, to make 

" husking table 

" planter, hand 

" sprouting 

" stalks, to plow under 

" estimating bulk 

" weighing 

*• plowing out 

" husk mat 

" stalks, how to stack 

" husking in field 

" green, for market 



PAGE 

Corn, seed, saving 390 

Corkscrew, improvised 227 

Cork, to soften 227 

" to make air tight 227 

" to get from inside of bottle 228 

Corks, to make prepared 227 

( ountersinks from files 16 

Counterpane, cable border for 552 

" in shell-work 552 

Crane, portable 481 

Crayon drawings, to fix 524 

Crates for > trawberries 122 

Cream, to Avot k into cheese 643 

" how to manage 642 

Cribs for corn 347, 348 

" storm proof 347 

" rat proof 349 

" wire cloth lining for 349 

" steps 348 

" filling 349 

" how to measure 349 

Crosscut saws, to put in order .398, 390 

" " handles for 400 

" " grease for 399 

" " guide 400 

Crotch sling 291 

Crockery, to pack Q18 

Crocheting and knitting 633 

Crochet cap 637 

Cross, cardboard. 693 

" rustic, to make 547 

" gun, how to make 238, 289 

" bow 288 

" " arrow 289 

" triirger 289 

" how to sight. 289 

" elastic 289 

Crystal baskets 563 

Crystallizing grasses 701 

Cultivating blackberries 500 

Curling hair 651 

Curtains, muslin 535 

" scrap silk 535 

" damask 536 

" canton flannel 536 

" trimming 535, 536 

" poles for 537 

" color for 537 

Curve, how to draw 254 

Cushion, rick-rack cover 641 

Cuttings from tomatoes 513 

Cutting bushes, scythe for 490-494 

corn 388 

glass 620 

" willows 499 

" grass 384 

" raspberry bushes 512 

" ice, for cattle 445 

wheat 386 

Cuttings, to revive wilted 493 

Dairy houses, constructing 342 

" spring house 344 

" - vessels, to keep from drying 455 

" utensils 454, 455 

Dam, foundation for 483 

" how to construct 453 

" walls 453 

Dart, how to make 292 

Deadfall, to make 294 

Decomposing bones 489 

straw 498 

Delaines, to wash 578 

Digging potatoes 489 

Disinf ertant-: 647 

Dishes, cements for .617, 618 

old, forus-e 618 

to pack 618 

Dishpan, convenient 616 



INDEX. 



707 



PAGE 

Ditch, to mnke an open 435 

Dog kennel, to make 80 

Doing fine work 11 

Dominoes, gvpsum 23.) 

Door fastenings 320-322 

" coverirjj, glas^s 695 

" catch 512 

Doors, fixing np 52 

' ' for bedrooms 317 

" for ice house 79 

" for poultry house 82 

" sliding, 53 

" stopping cracks in 53 

" sa^i^ing 52 

" slamming ; 52 

" creaking 52 

Dooryard decoration 500 

shrubs 497 

Doubletree, to make 362, 363 

for plows ... .' 396 

' ' draw staple for 362 

Dowel, to make 502 

Drain openings, to protect 436 

" how to lay out 435 

Drains, necessity for 433 

" of tiles and wood 434-435 

" to disinfect 647 

" for cellars 73 

Drawing a curve 254 

Drawings, to preserve, on paper " 231 

for work 256 

pencil, to transfer 527 

crayon, to fix 524 

to preserve 524 

Draw shave, selecting 22 

'• boring 35 

Dray, bow to make 380 

" forbarrel 381 

" crotch 381 

Drilling glass 620 

Drills for iron 25 

' ' laoricator for 26 

" how lo temper 25 

Dumb bells, bome-made 271 

Dyeing witJi indigo 601 

" ' to variegate 601 

" to set colors 601 

to brighten 601 

" 6kt«-color 600 

" lilac-color 600 

" rose-color 600 

" copper-color 600 

" orange-color 600 

" stone-color 599 

" fleeh-color 600 

" olive-color 600 

reen 596. 597 

>lack 59t, 595 

brightred 597 

" scarlet 59S, 599 

" cochineal 598 

" crimson 598 

" purple 600 

" bro\\Ti 599 

yellow 595, 596 

blue 592, 595 

furs 601 

kid gloves 632, 633 

JEasel, rustic 545 

" bome-made 609 

Eave troughs 340 

Edging, knit diamond 636 

Eggs, to test 475 

" rack for 477 

" gum arable for 475 

" containing chickens 476 

" wooden, for nest 476 

'• bottling .474 



gre 
bla 



PAGE 

Eggs, keeping fresh 473, 474, 475 

Egg incubating 476 

Emery, glue for 184 

Engravings, to clean 525 

steel, to transfer 526 

Etching shells 691, 692 

Evener, three-horse 363, 364 

Fabrics, to make fireproof 584 

" indigo for 601 

" fine, to wash 586 

" bleaching 587 

" colored, to wash 576 

Farm team, light 438 

" bell 482 

" stock, soiling 445 

" crane, portable 481 

" scales 493 

" account, keeping 500 

" sleds 366 

" house foundation 316 

' • house, designs for 315 

" gong 500 

" barns and stables 319 

" buildings, location of 318 

" fencing 401 

' ' implements, care of 313 

" tool boat 377 

Farming, fallacy in 501 

test for good 509 

Fan wheel, to make 696 

Fanning mill foothold 484 

Faucets for barrels 459 

Feather brush, how to make 652 

Feeding boxes 335 

Fences, picket 59 

Fence rail, per acre 59 

• ' for dooryard 401 

" for poultry yard 84 

" for marshy land 408 

•' of poles 406 

" straight rail 405 

" board 62 

" posts, durable 62 

" stakes 404 

" relaying 404 

" hurdle 405 

" wire 411 

" board, and wire 405 

" bedge, to make 406 

" brush 406 

" posts, charring ^ 

Fencing, economy in 404 

hillsides 404 

" with rails 401 

Perns, to bleach 588 

Fern picture 524 

" case 607 

Fertilizers, best 489 

Field harrows 375 

'• rollers, construction of 370 

Figure four 294 

Files, turning chisels from 16 

" saw sets from .. 16 

" howto clean 16 

'• countersinks from 16 

resharpeniug 15 

" worn out 15 

'■ tempering 17 

•' to make reamer of 17 

' ' cold chisels made from 17 

Filters and filtering 126 

Filter, poor man's 127 

•' of paper 127 

" for oil 127 

" for wine 127 

" for jelly 127 

Finishing wood work 28 

Fire kindler .253 



7o8 



INDEX. 



PAGE 

Fire, how to light 650 

" brick substitute 249 

" wood, trees for 423 

" wood, preparing 420 

Fire-proof houses 487 

" fabrics 584 

" wash 165 

" cement for dishes 618 

Fish ponds, how to make 453 

Flannels, white, to restore 576 

" to wa'^h 575 

Flat-irons, to take rust from 212 

Fleece horse for skin 485 

Flip stick 291 

Flower boxes 553 

" basket, lawn 559 

" box, rustic 547 

" stakes, to preserve 246 

" crock cover 694 

Floors, painting 150 

" polishing 187 

" waxing 187 

" over stables 224 

Flood gates 414, 415 

Flour, how to select 649 

Flute, to stop crack in 283 

" oiling 283 

Footstool, home-made 528 

Forests, clearing up 424 

'• trucks used in 423 

how to save 422, 423 

Forest tree felling , 423 

Frames, velvet covered 610 

" quilting 611 

" ornaments for 528 

" gilded, repairing 529 

" fastening- shells to 528 

" rose leaf 528 

" old, use for 528 

Frame, cardboard 527 

" for ferns 533 

" for bags. 482 

" for broom corn 481 

Framed sheds 331 

Frosting for glass 623 

Fruit keeping 501 

" picker, cheap 505 

" spots on fabrics 591 

" to can 654 

" to protect from birds 246 

" stoneless, to produce 507 

Ftmnel for sap barrel 431 

Furniture, to take bruises out 517 

" to stain 517 

" to clean upholstered 519 

" to remove spots 516 

" varnishes for 516 

" varnishing 168 

polish 184, 185 

'• oil, to make 519 

" mending 518 

"' " effects of water on 519 

Furs, how to tan 627 

" how to repair 630 

" how to tell good 629 

" to make up 629 

" mink, to clean 628 

" sable, to clean 628 

" what may be used 627 

" and skins for mats 627 

" loss in 627 

" care of 629 

" tanning 308 

Garden gate, farm 410 

seats 102 

" water cask 122 

line 123 

fixtures 123 



PAGE 

Garden rake, cheap 123 

" marker 124 

" reel, cheap 123 

'• plants, watering 506 

Gjis escaping, to detect 239" 

Gates, flood 414 

construction of 67 

" how to hang 69 

" hingeless 68 

" cheap road 69 

Gate for farm garden 410 

" posts, permanent 70 

" post, substantial 410 

' ' post, brace 70 

' ' fastener 69 

" hinges, rustic 72 

" that will not sag 67 

" rustic 71 

Gathering woods dirt 502 

sap 430 

Gearing for horses 142 

German siher solder 191 

Gilding, cheap 238 

" to improve 238 

Glass, to cut 720 

" to toughen 622 

" to letter 624 

" to clean 623 

'• how to drill 620 

' ' checker-boai d 252 

" ground, to imitate 256 

" transparencies 531, 532 

' ' hanging shelves 608 

" hanging basket 559 

" tube, to divide 620 

" broken, to mend 621, 622 

" frosting for 623 

" jars, to make like china 624 

" varnish for 173 

" stopper to remove 621 

" cement 203, 204 

" cutter, cheap 621 

" door covering 695 

Glasses in carriages, to clean 133 

Gloves, selecting kid 630 

dyeing 632, 633 

care of kid 630, 631 

' ' to clean kid 632 

' ' to mend kid 631 

Globe, to perforate 620 

to clean 62a 

Glue, selecting 178 

" applying 180 

" not adhesive 180 

" sugar of lime 181 

" liquid or prepared 180, 181 

' ' Japanese rice 183 

" white 184 

" aqua-fortis 181 

" sweet elastic 182 

" marine 181 

" compound 181 

" insoluble 183 

" flexible 183 

" preparing 180 

" kettle 179 

•' condition of 179 

" hot 178 

" wash 162 

" portable isinglass 181 

" how to keep 184 

" for metals 18t 

" for emery 184 

" for damp atmosphere 182 

" for polished steel 182 

" wateiproof 183 

" fireproof 183 

Gluing with shellac 18» 

" second time 18i 



INDEX. 



709 



CHuing, clamps for 

" heat for 

Glued parts, to separate 

Gold, test for 

Oold chain, how to polish 

Gophers, to kill 

Grafting and budding 109, 

" wax 114, 

bandages 

" layer 



grapevines 

" large stocks 

" the cherry 

Grafts, shading 

Granary, how to make 

Grape scions 

" keeping 509, 

" box, to make 

Grass stains, to remove 

Grates, to clean rusty 

Gravel walks 

" to clean 

Greenery, pretty .... 

Greenhouse, care of 

Grindstone, care of 

'' self-sharpening 

" turning 

Gauge for staves 

Gun, how to manage 283 

" how to load 

" barrel browning 

" cross. 

" handling 

" ramrod "^for 

" to keep from rusting 

" spring, how to make . . 

Gutta percha, to clean 

Gymnasium at home 



184 
183 
184 
243 
188 
503 
110 
115 
115 
113 
114 
112 
113 
111 
114 
496 
112 
510 
509 
591 
2:3 

77 
613 
248 
19 
20 
20 
495 
-2S5 
28t; 
284 
288 
285 
286 
286 
292 
240 
270 



Hair brush, to clean 651 

'* hoAV to curl 651 

Half-mile track, to make 486 

Hams, how to keep 463 

" how to cure 462 

Hammer, care of 19 

" how to grind 19 

brad 142 

Handles, to prevent splitting 17 

" black varnish for 173 

" for pitchforks 496 

" knife, discolored 613 

" knife, to fasten on 613 

Handling chisels 13 

Hanging baskets 555, 556, 558-560 

Handy housewife 515 

Hanging shelves 608 

Hardening tools . 17 

Harrows, crotch 375 

" framed 375 

Harrow, slab, to make 376 

Harness, management of 136-141 

" how to oil 136 

" how to wash 136 

" to make look new 137 

blacking 137, 138 

" glossing 138 

" varnish 139 

" French polish for 139 

" patent leather dressing 136 

knife 141 

" clamps 140 

" mending 140 

" strap?!, riveting 141 

'• plating, how to clean 136 

draught 137 

Hauling manure 487 

Hay stacks, building 384 

" rack 582 



271 
210 
211 
211 
696 
410 



PAGE 

Ilay caps 384 

' • weighing contrivance 489 

" estimating bulk 419 

" summering over 488 

" mow building 384 

" mow, ventilator for 511 

Health lift 2;2 

Hedge, osage, planting 407 

" fence, thick 406 

" to trim 407 

Hemp, per acre 471 

" harvesting 469 

'■ rotting 469-471 

Hens, sitting to break up 508 

Hen power, application of 507 

Highways, working 485 

Hinges, how to select 251 

for rustic gate 72 

Hiving bees 87 

Hoe, to sharpen 238 

Hoeing potatue-! 506 

Home workshop 9 

Honing a razor 236 

Honey cap, how to make 86 

Hoops, rivets for 37 

" for grape keeping 509 

Hoop streiciier for skins 303 

" skirt, to clean 649 

Horizontal bar 

Horn, to color tortoise 

• ' to stain green 

" to stain red 

" cornucopia 

Horse, liow to cast 

" shoeing 142-145 

'• shoe, toe, calks for 144 

" gearing 142 

Horses, how to drench 439 

foot, heel of 144 

" 63^08, testing 440 

" blanketing 439 

" watering in harnet-s 438 

" to halter break 441 

Hot bed, liow to make t8-101 

'• sash, how to make 100 

" German ^ 101 

Houses, roof for 48 

fireproof 487 

" material for 42 

of plank 317 

" dairy, constructing 342 

" construction of 39, 41 

" for poultry 81 

House for bees 88 

for birds, rustic 264 

" for pigeons 262 

" farm 315, 316 

' ' walls, hollow 45 

" wall, lining 42 

" slippers, crocheted 636 

How to carve 656 

Husk basket 561 

" picture frame 529 

" beds 548 

Husking corn in field 508 

Ice-house, how to build 78 

" door 79 

" ventilating 79 

" peat for 505 

" walls for 78 

" foundation for 78 

" location of , 78 

Ice, quantity to store 79 

" pocket 646 

" keeping in a blanket 646 

" how to pack 79 

" chest, cheap 646 

" pitcher, cheap 647 



7IO 



INDEX. 



Ice chisel to make 

Implements, farm 

Incubation, artificial 

Ink to remove from floors 

" to remove f r..m books 

" to remove from paper 

" to remove from mahogany 

" marking, to remove 

" printer's, to remove 218, 

" for greasy paper 

" for marking tin 

" to keep from molding 

" stains on fabrics 

" mat'ic 

" blue wri tiuij 

" black writing 

" green writing 

" red writing 

" violet writing 

" purple-rcl 

"■ purple, Italian 

" black indelible 

" blue indelible 

Interest, how to cast 

Iron, black p' 'lish for 

" white, bri<ihtness for 

" varnish for 173, 

" drills for 

'" to weld to steel 

" to prevent rusting 

" to stain brown ... 

" iu whippletrees. . 

' ' splitting cast 

" influencinir water 

" axletrees, light 

'• retort cement 

" pipe cement 

' ' rust on marble 

" shaft-^, to mend 

" stains, to remove 

Ironing velvet ribbons 

clothes 

Isinglass cement for dishes 

Ivory to imitate 

" how to silver 

" stains for 

" knife handles, discolored 

Ivy hanging basket 



Jack knife 23 

" screw for stump pulling 393 

Japan drier, test for 149 

Japanning old tea trays 616 

Jars, stone, to sweeten 617 

" to clean 617 

Joints, protecting 29 

" iiowiosaw 35 

Journal boxes, alloy for 241 

Keg hanging basket 559 



Kennel, for dos 



80 



Kerosene, to prevent nist 213 

Kettles, to deodorize ' 648 

" how to mend 238 

" for boiling sap 431 

Kid gloves : 630 

Killing birds for stuffing 311 

Kindler for fire 253 

Kites, hoAV to hang -'75, 277, 278 

Kite, tail for 277 

" three stick 275 

" bow .276 

" making 275 

" bird 277 

Kitchens, paint for 151 

Kitchen boot rack 610 

sink 652 

" walls, color for 650 

•' measurement 651 



PAGK 

Knitting and crocheting 633 

" men's suspenders 637 

Knit diamond edging 636 

Knit rag mat 573 

" skirt for child 634 

"■ infant shirt 635 

" stand spread 636 

" rag mittens 638 

" sofa afghan 636 

" scarf 636 

" cape 639 

Knives, rust on 212; 

" charcoal for 614 

" rn sty table 614 

" silver, to clean 614 

Knife, for harness work 141 

putty, how to make ITS' 

" handle, cement 198 

*•* handles to fasten on 613- 

" handles, ivory, discolored 613 

Knots, how to tie 192: 

Knot, half hitch 194 

" double loop hitch 193 

" binding 19a 

" the weaver's 19^ 

'• single bowling 193 

" the safety 192 

" the flat 19^ 

Lace, to wash, 584 

" to clean 585 

" to do up 586 

Lactometer, cheap 247 

Lacquer, gold, to make 246 

Ladders for fruit picking 90 

" for painting 90 

" how to make 89 

long 8» 

short 89 

" lengths of 89- 

" rounds for 90 

' ' material for 89^ 

Ladder, step 90 

" for hens 84 

Lamps, to prevent exploding 626 

' ' to prevent smoking 626 

" to mend 626 

" cement for 200 

" safeguard for 626 

" how to fill 626 

Lamp wicks, home-made 625 

" wicks, filled up .' 625 

" shades, to ornament 625 

" oil, bow to test 626 

" chimneys, to toughen 625 

" chimneys, to clean 624 

" chimneys to te^-t 525 

' ' chimneys, to repair 625 

Lampblack, to purify 15^ 

Lambs, to kill ticks on 448 

" to dock 44S 

Land measure 450 

" for vineyards 504 

Lawn seats 10^ 

" flower basket 5o9 

Lay up piece's 314 

I.eaoh for ashes 603- 

Lead and cement pamt 164 

Lead, cannon 291 

" pipes, to protect ^9' 

Leather, pump, packins 223 

patent, to restore 223 

" waterproof 222 

old, to polish 224 

glos^for ■•-■■ 224 

" Vienna polish for 224 

Germati liquid polish for 22-3 

" enamel polish for 223 



INDEX. 



711 



PAGE 

Leather, paste for 219 

" castor oil for 225 

" ivory black for 224 

'* to blacken 223 

" to fasten to inetiil 2:^3 

" to harden 222 

" to clean 222 

" morocco, to restore 224 

Leaves, varnishing 170 

" for hotbed 101 

Lenses to clean 623 

Level, how to make 18 

" to prove 18 

Leveler for meadow 379 

'• for road 378 

Lighting a fire 650 

Lightning rods, how to put up 92 

'• rods, protectmg 93 

" rods, defective 91 

" rods, coating for 92-93 

" rods, height of 92 

" rods, size and shape of 92 

" rods, use of 91 

" rods, construction of 91 

=' rod, fastenings 92 

Lime, test for 254 

" spots to remove 591 

" how to burn 211 

" for preserving timber 425 

" for shingles 49 

Linen, to remove ink from 590 

Lumber, summering 427 

" how to pile 427 

" for poultry house 81 

" for board fence 65 

for the farm 511 

" for black-board 124 



Machine oil 


128 


Machinery, varnish for 

Madder lakes, test for 

Mahogany, to take ink from 


174 

148 

590 

185 




512 


Mantels, marble, to dress 

Mantel, to make cheap 

Mangers in horse stables. 


228 

522 

322 


for cattle 


328 


Mapping grain fields 

Map making 


508 

232 


' ■ how to mount 


. 233 


" how to draw 


233 




170 


Marker for o'arden 


121 


Marble, artificial 


229 




. .. 2-28 


mantels, 10 dress over 


228 

198. 229 


" to polish. 


187, 228 


" to take stains from 

" to clean 

Martin bos. 


228 

228 

263 


*' box, color of 

Matches, witerproof 

Match stand, upright 


264 

238 

544 


Matting, straw to cleMU 

Mats, furs and skins for 


648 

. 627 


" for carriages 


134 




575 


" for hotbk'ds 


101 


" sheepskin 


575 


" table . 


. 575 


" husk 


574 




573 


Mat, foot 


572 


" wall protectin "■ 


. 574 


" double ruffle 


572 

572 


" washing toilet 


574 



PAQB 

Mat, muslin ,572 

*' crocheted ' ' 571 

" washstand 571 

Maul and wedge 402 

" how to make 402 

" care of 403 

" limber for 402 

Manuscript, old, to renovate 230 

Meat preserving, without brine 468 

Measurements for kitchen 651 

Measure for land 450 

Measuring poi e 451 

box ...• 452 

" ■» wood in bulk 449 

'• the height of a tree 449 

" a cistern 449 

Mechanical farmer 312 

" improvement of soil 485 

Medals, impressions of 250 

Medley pictures, to make 525 

Mending broken dishes 617 

" harne-s 140 

Merino to clean 578 

Metal, strength of 247 

" polish, how to make 188 

Metals to clean 249 

slue for 184 

" how to tin 241 

Mice, how to kill 253 

Milking sheds 330 

" yards, double 341 

" yards, muddy 341 

'• yards, paving 341 

Milk tester, to make 247 

" how to manage 641 

" can bolster 480 

" cement lor dishes 617 

Mill stones to balance 245 

" saw filing 400 

Minstrel powder : 242 

Mirrors to protect (519 

to clean 619 

" repairing 619 

" shells with 689 

Mirror for Avashstand 520 

Miter, how to saw 38 

'• fastening 39 

" box 38 

Mitered crotch dray 38 1 

Mittens, how to knit 638 

Models, alloy for 239 

Molasses, making maple '. 432 

Mold wax for the face 250 

Molding clay, to make 239 

Moles, to poison 507 

IMortise, now to make 34 

Mortar, how to mix 53 

•' working 54 

'• keeping 54 

Moss, hyacinths in 687 

" in tumblers, etc 688 

' ' pictures 687 

" frames 687 

" cone 687 

" hat 687 

" transparency 688 

Mouse hole, to stop 240 

Mounting chromo 525 

birds 311 

Mowing machines, old 497 

'* lawns 497 

Mucilage for metals 221 

to keep from molding 221 

■ ' commercial 220 

" pocket 221 

" gum arabic 2-41 

" gum trag^canth 221 

Muff, how to repair 6 ') 

Mulching with sawdust 4'j'J 



712 



INDEX. 



PAGE 

Muslin, stains on 592 

" thin to wash 579 

Mushroom bed 468 

" where to grow 467 

" spawn 468 

" indoor culture 469 

Nails and Nailing 26 

" vs. Screws 36 

" lengths of 26 

" todrive 26,487 

" to keep from rusting 27 

" to draw rusty ^... 28 

'• annealing 27 

" value of 27 

" box for 27 

" picture, to make hold 530 

" removinjr, rusty 38 

" holes, filling 28,176 

Nail hammer, care of 19 

Nailing on Shingles 49 

Neck Yoke, length of ..366 

" to iron 36') 

timber 365 

Nest for goose, to make 487 

" eggs 476 

" material for 476 

Nippers for trimming 142 

Nuts, how to plant , 491 

Oak, timber, selecting 29 

•• columns, strength of 486 

Oats, to clean for sc ed 482 

Ocher for rooms 155 

Odors and disease. ., 647 

Oil, boiled vs. raw 128-148 

" boiled for drying 148 

" to test lamp 626 

" how to test 129 

" forhelts 128 

" for furniture 519 

" for whetstones 129 

" for harness 136 

" for felloes 362 

" for c;irriages .. 134 

" stains, to remove 589 

" neatsfoot 128 

" linseed, to select 147 

" cheap machine 128 

" filter .127 

" stones, to face 15 

" paintings, to clean and restore 526 

" paintings, varnish for 175 

" cloth, to clean 649 

Ovens, (fUtdoor 486 

Ox Yoke, how to make 444 

Packing strawberry plants to ship 488 

'• green corn for market 495 

Pail, holding milk stool 455 

Pails, shellac for 455 

" painting 455 

" sap, care of 431 

" varnishino; 172 

Paints, mixed, to keep 148 

" mixing for color 156 

" drying... 149 

Paint, preparing for 146 

" ladders 90 

" value of 146 

*• driers for 147 

" why it cracks 1.55 

" good, economy in 154 

" of wagons, injuring 35S 

*' ground, to test 148 

" renewingold 153 

" sickness frmn 152 

" on pine knots 256 

" removing from windows 56 



PA3E 

Paint, poison from :'52 

" lor sleighs :'52 

" for kitchens 151 

" forbu led wood 154 

" for blackboards 124 

" forbrick house 46 

" to remove from wood 154 

' ' to remove old 149 

" to remove Irom stone.. 153 

" to make shine 153 

" to soften 154 

" to stand boiling water 154 

" to grind, cheap 155 

" to make a buff 157 

" how to lay on 147 

" cheap, inside 164 

" cheap, resin 162 

" haden cement 164 

" German hard finish 164 

" BranardV 162 

" tar... 163 

" rei 1F>6 

" olive color 156 

" mahogany color 158 

" lavender color 158 

" salmon color 159 

" amber color 159 

" madder lakes 148 

" vermilion 148-153 

" ultramarine 148 

" violet 157 

" blue limestone 157 

" Portland stone 157 

" purple 157 

" canary yellow 157 

" light blue 157 

" pearl gray 157 

" black for cameras 153 

" chestnut color 157 

" drab 157 

" peach blow 157 

" dark lead 157 

" indigo 158 

" colors for shading 158 

" brass color 158 

" ash color 1.58 

" green 158 

" flat zinc 158 

^ " nice brown 158 

" dee blue 158 

" nice scarlet 158 

" bronze green 158 

" cheap gray 158 

" rose color 158 

" pretty pink 158 

" light brown 1.59 

" red brown 159 

" deep lilac 158 

' ' brushes, care of 159 

" ti^rushes, Avashing 159 

" brushes, wiping 160 

" brushes, keeping 159 

" brushes, selecting 160 

" brushes, how to make 160 

'' brushes, handles for 160 

" brushes, improving 160 

" board 156 

Painters, caution to 152 

Painting shingles 48 

wagons 358-359 

'' v/hitewashed walls 150 

" stoves 151 

" wood floors 150 

" zinc 151 

" vehicles 149 

'' brickwork 15u 

" windows 147 

" carriages 134 

barrels 120 



INDEX. 



PAGE 

Painting milk pails 455 

" gate joints 68 

" a sled 368 

" with benzine 149 

*' over lime 155 

" outdoor 146 

Paintings, oil to clean 5'^6 

'■ < il, to restore 526 

Pans for boiling sap 431 

Papering walls 57 

Paper, to stain purple 211 

" to stain areen 211 

" to stain crimson 211 

" to stain oranse 212 

" to stain yellow 212 

" to talce creases from 232 

*' to take grease from 231 

" to make acid proof 230 

" to make waterproof 229 

** to render fireproof 229 

" to fix pencil marks on 332 

" for chairs 232 

" for beds 232 

" for polishing 230 

" for fruit jars 232 

" filter 127 

" how to file 231 

'' black, for drawing 230 

" rack ti08 

" to remove ink from 59 ) 

" paste for 210 

" temporary tracing 23".i 

Parallel bars 271 

Parchmenr, to take grease from 231 

Passe-partout to make 532 

Pasteboard, to make waterproof 229 

Paste perpetual 219 

" for wall paper 57 

" for papering boxes 220 

" for printing oflaice 220 

" for tin 220 

" for leather and paper 219 

" for scrap books 219 

•' to keep sweet 58 

'• to fasten cloth to wood 220 

" acid proof 219 

" su^ar... 219 

" strong 219 

" brilliant 219 

Patent leather polish 1 87 

Paving milking yards 341 

Peaches, to pic-kle 655 

" how to peel 653 

" trees, fiom pits 508 

" trees, heading 507 

Pears, to pickle 655 

Pencils, how to wrap 250 

" drawings to fix 524 

" drawings to transfer 527 

Pens for summering swine 446 

" for pigs, portable 346 

" for pigs, untidy 345 

'' with yards, for pio;s 345 

Perfume satchet, to make ' G98 

Petroleum, to remove smell of 648 

Pewter, how to make 2'^8 

Photo enamel work 527 

Pickling peaches 655 

" pears 655 

Pickles present use 654 

•' cucumber 655 

" sugar and salt, for 655 

•' to make quick 653 

Picket fences, cheap , 59 

" fence, portable 60 

Pictures, light for 531 

" appropriateness of 534 

" proportion in margins 534 

*' arranirement of 530 



PAGE 

. 528 



Pictures, trimming; with vines 

" for window 524 

•' of moss 687 

" varnish for 175 

" spatter work 523 

" hanging 534 

" of ferns 524 

" Bails, to make hold 530 

" fram s, rose leaf 528 

Pillow slips 551 

Pillows of paper and chaff 551 

Pin ball, how to make 640 

" wheel, how to make 279 

Pipes, water, protecting 249 

" feed, scales in 249 

Pitchfork handles 496 

Plank flooring in stables 324 

" runners for wagons 354 

" wall finish 318 

" wall partitions 318 

" wall, cottage 317 

" wall, material for 318 

" walls, constructing 317 

" rollers 370 

" for carriages 426 

" huuses .. 317 

" trap . 296 

" and board drains 434 

Planes, management of 13 

t^electing 13 

Plane marks, to remove 29 

Plants, thawing out 255 

Planting seeds early 488 

nuts 491 

Plaster, material for 53 

" how to mix 53 

" cracking 55 

" black 125 

" cast, to bronze 244 

" Paris, to prevent hardening 239 

" and i)]asteving 53 

Plastering, quantities lor 54 

" in cold weather 54 

" floors 55 

" cm old lath 54 

" on dirt walls 105 

Plate silver, to take stains from 615 

Platinsr lightning rods 93 

Platform for drying beans 498 

Plow for ditching 435 

'* handle leverage 896 

Plows, draught of 395 

" adjustment of 395 

" doubletree for 396 

•' to remove rust from 212 

'• care of 398 

Plowing flat land 397 

'• longJnrrows in 396 

" back furrow 397 

" under cornstalks 493 

" out corn 505 

Plush covered banjo 610 

I oker, how to harden. 238 

Poke, for breacby animals 439 

for cattle 443 

" for sucking cows 443 

Pointing brick a\ ork 45 

Polished surfaces, to protect . 213 

Polish, to apply 186 

" on plate, to preserve 189 

'• metal, how to make ]88 

" simple iron 188 

" black, for iron 187 

" Tripoli 185 

" German 184 

" wax 185 

for stoves 189 

" for a g^i)ld chain 18 < 

" for cloihes boxes 188 



714 



INDEX. 



PAGE 

Polish, for inlayings of brass 188 

" for bntannia 188 

" for patent le;ither 187 

" for black walnut 185 

" for cherry 185 

" for mahogany 185 

" for oiled wood 185 

for ham' ss 139 

for furniture 184, 185 

Polishing varnish 173 

" wood carvings 186 

" bare wood 186 

" floors 187 

" marble 187 

Polefence 406 

" drains 433 

" racks , 337 

" for land measure 451 

Poles for beans 253 

'* for curtains 537 

Ponds tor flsh, constructing 453 

Portable walks 75 

" board fence 65 

" picket fence 60 

" poul try fence..... . 84 

" coops for chickens 85 

Pork barrels 121, 460 

" packing and salting 460 

" where to keep 462 

Porcelain, to clean 618 

Post hitching 408 

" sharpening holder 409 

Posts, permanent for gate 410 

" rotted off, to use 409 

" sagging 64 

" top downward 63 

" permanent 70 

" coating green 62 

" of live oak 62 

" for fence..., 62 

" to straighten up 409 

" tolift 408 

'* timber for 63 

" braces for gates 70 

Potato vinegar 653 

Potatoes, to dig 489 

Poultry house, construction of 81-83 

" disinfecting 82 

" cleaning 82 

yard, permanent St 

how to kill and pluck 471, 472 

packing 472, 473 

box marking 472 

Powder post timber 30 

Preparing timber 29 

Preserving citron C54 

" quince 654 

" colors of dresses 601 

Press for barrel 514 

' ' for cheese 645 

Presses for cheese factories 480 

Pressing cheese 644 

Prints, to prevent fading 570 

Protecting joints 20 

Pulley, cheap, t o make 494 

Pulleys, to harden 240 

Pumice stone, uses for 244 

Pumps, repairing ehiiin 109 

"■ to prevent freezing 109 

'• management of 109 

" packing with leather 223 

Punches and rivets 141 

Punching buckle holes 140 

Push rake 496 

Putty, to soften 151-177 

" substitute for 177 

flint 178 

" smoothinsr down , 178 

" imperishable 177 



PAGET 

Putty knife, how to make 178; 

for screw holes 28 

lor mending tin 178 

for hurried work 177 

how to make 176- 

how to color 176 

how to keep , 178 

Puttying up cracks 177 

nailholes 28, 176 

Quilt, log cabin 551 

Quilting frames 611 

Quince propagating 507 

" to preserve 654- 



Rack, clothes 

" boot 

'' fur papers 545, 

" " milk pans 

" " keeping eggs 

" " hay 

" flaring, for sheep 

" double 

" cross slat 

" portable, for sheep 

" for cattle 

" of poles 

" in sheds 

Padish.es, forcing 

Raft building 

Rag mittens 

Rails, per acre, for fence 

" how to i^plit 

Rail, corn cribs 

" fence making 

" " cheap 

" cut, blasting 

" fence, straight 

Rake for pushing 

'• '• grain 

" " garden 

" wire teeth for. . 

" long wooden teeth for 

Ramrod, how to make 

Raspberry bushes, cutting back 

Rawhide, u^e for 

Razor, how to hone 

•' strop, how to clean 

" how to use 

" stropping 

Reamer made of a file 

Red paints 

Reel lor the garden 

" measure for land 

Refractury animals 

Rennet, preparinsj; for cheese 

Reno\ating barren soil 

Resin, how to soften 

Ribbon, to wash 

" velvet, to iron 

' ' to smooth 

" black, to clean 

" silk, to renew 

Rivets and punclies 

" to make hold 

" why they give way 

" for hoops 

" of tire boll s 

' ' pressed vs. fors:ed 

Riveting harness straps 

Riving shingle blocks 

Road, corduroy 

" leveler 

Eocking chair, renewss^g 

Kock work forthe door yard 

Kpckery, lor^ian of 

" Basin 

" plain 

" decorating 



611 
610 
608 
454 
477 
382 
336 
337 
336 
335 
337 
337 
335 
482 
267 
638 
401 
402; 
847 
401 
402. 
403 
405. 



123« 

383 
38a 
286 
512: 



237 

237 

237- 

17 

156. 

123 

451 

438 

645 

496 

239 

585 

584 

585 

585 

581 

141 

37 

36. 

37 

37 

37 

141 

417 

248 

378 



INDEX. 



71? 



Rockery, fountain 

" how to build 

" i)lants for 

" stone for.. 

Rollers, felloes for 

field 

Roller, hollow log 

' ' turned log ... 

" long solid 872, 

" substitute 

Roofs for dwellings 

" tar for 

" of zinc 

Roof of coal tar 

" to repair 

" number of shingles for 

" thatching 

" board 

" cement... . 

Rope, strength of 

Rose bushes, to protect 

" " pruning 

Roses, how to layer . . 

Root cutter, cheap 

Row boat making 

Rubber cement 

" shoes, to mend 

" hose, to mend 

" joints, chalk for 

Rug, Persian 

" imitation moss . . 

" checker board 

" yarn 

" of skin 

Rugs, fringe for 

" cloth 

" chenille 

" coffee suck 

" wool 

" carriage 

" scrap ra!^ 

" of carpeting 

Runners, for wagons 35 i, 

Rust on plows 

" on knives 

" on steelyards 

" on flat irons 

" on gun barrels - 

" to remove 

Rusty grates 

" table knives 

Rustic work, home made 

" gate 

" gate hingeM 

' ' summer house 

'' bird house 

" coop 

" flower box 

" brackets 

' ' vases 

' ' vase stand 



cross , 

hanging basket. 

chairs 

bird's nest 

paper rack 



Sails, to keep from mildewing ... 241 

Sand paper, to select 18 

" how to use 18 

Sand sieve, how to make 55 

Sap, storage for 431 

" boiling pans vs. kettles 4.3 1 

" barrel, funnel 431 

" pails, care of 431 

" buckets 4.30 

" gathering 430 

" soft maple 431 



PAGE 

Sap, spiles, how to make 420 

Sash for hot bed, home made 100 

Stationary walks 75. 

Saving onion sets 488 

Sawdust, mulching with 49& 

" walks 76 

' ' for drilled iron 242 

Sawing shingle blocks 417 

" boards by lim-. . . . 483 

" machine for wood 419 

Saw files, worn out 15 

" logs, how to load 391,392 

" sets of files 16 

Saws, selecting 23 

" filing mid 400 

" circular, sharpening 40O 

" drag teeth 01' 398 

" back 25 

" grease for 25 

♦' kinked 25 

" how to set 24 

" jointing 2t 

" to file 24 

cross cut, grease for 399 

" cross cut guide 400 ■ 

" cross cut, handles lor .JOO' 

" cross cut, to file 399 

" cross cut, to ji int 398 

" cross cut, how to set 398- 

Scantling for skids 424 

" wheelbarrow 131 

Scaffolding for building 95 

Scaffold, portable 96 

Scarf, double knit 036 

Scales on farm 493 

Scions, size of 113 

grape 112 

Scouring box 615 

Scroll, how to copy 15.5 

Screws, how to select 35 

" to prevent rusting 36 

" to draw rusty 36 

'* -ys, nails .36 

" to make hold ;. 36 

Screw tethering, to make 245 

" driver, selecting 21 

" " long i;5. short 21 

" " grinding 22 

" " tempering 22 

" holes, putty for 28 

" " plugging 28 

Scrap bag 608 

" book, how to make 254 

Screen of a clothes rack 611 

' ' checker-board 612 

Scraping a barn yard 512 

Scalding milk vessels 454 

Sealing wax, cement 194 

Seats for lawns 102 

" wagons, to make 356 

" windows .523 

" gardens.. 102 

Seeds, early planting 488 

'• locust, to manage 490 

" from strong plants 490 

" bottling 491 

" to test, small 490 

Seed, broom corn ... 504 

" osage orange, to prepare 505 

" clover, brushing in 504 

" com, sprouting 491 

" " saving 390 

'• saver, for stable 490 

' ' ornaments 702 

" wheat, to clem 493,499 

" timothy, to save 49*2 

Seeding, bare spots 482' 

sharpening circular saws 400^ 

Shafts, to mend..... 245; 



:;i6 



INDEX. 



Shaving soap 606 

" liorsc for shingles 418 

" case T 699 

Sheep, how to shear 447 

" pelts, how to pull 484 

" chair 446 

Shed, roof of boards 332 

•' roofs, thatching 332 

Sheds, for milking 330 

for sheep 331 

" doable 331 

" racks for 835 

in pastures 446 

how to frame 331 

hanging basket 556 

pyramid 6!)0 

work counterpane 553 



Shell, 



" boxes 

" brackets 

Shells, grouping. 

etching 691, 

' ' on picture frames . 

Shearing sheep 

Shelves, hanging 

" for cellars 

Shellac, for gluing 

" for milk pails 

' ' solvent for 

" cement 

Shingles, timber for 

" number in roof 

" lime for 

" painting 

" how to nail 

" vitriol for 

" bunching 

Shingle, for houses 

" shaving horse 

" frow 

' ' mallet 

" blocks, sawing and riving 

Shirt, how to make 

" bosom to do up 

" infants', knit 

Shop, scrap box 

Shoes, treading to one side 

" heating 

" rubber to mend 

" black varnish for 

" ivory black for 

Shoe, blackinsr 226, 

" leather, hardening 

Shoeing a hort-e 

" errors in 

Shrubs, dooryurd 

" how to layer 

Silks, to wash 

'• to take trrease from 

" to take creases from . 

' ' black, to clean 

Silk, wrapping paper for 

" ribbon to renew 

" shawl, dyeing 598, 

" stockiniTS, to dye 595, 

" to tlye brown 

" to dye black 

'• to dye blue 

" sofa quilt 

' ' dyeing lilac 

" cement for 

" hat, how to manage 

Silver plate, stains on 

•' " to take stains from 

" " to clean 614 

test for 

Sinks, to disinfect •. . . . 

Sink, for kitchen 

■Siphon, how to use 



Skint 



PAGE 

Sizing, for cloth 581 

for sign work 240 

mole, how to tan 307 

ho'.v to color ... 628 

" of birds, preserving 311 

" tannins: 304,306,307 

" stretching and dyeing 302 

" damaging 302 

" formats 627 

Skin rugs , 568 

ykinnino: birds 308 

'' " animals 304-306 

Slab walks 75 

Sleos, construction of 366 

'' timber for 366 

'• how to make 258 

Sled, bob, to make 369 

•' coasting 258 

" framed 259, 260 

" painting 262,368 

" braces for 260 

" how to shoe 259 

" box fastening 368 

" stake holes 368 

" raves 367 

•' roller, how to set 367 

" pole, length of 367 

Sleighs, paint for 152 

Sledge, for hauling manure 325 

Sling crotch, how to make 291 

Slippers, to put soles on 637 

" crocheted 636 

Smoke houses 344 

Snare, to make 297 

line 298 

" slip noose 298 

Snow shovel, to make. 242 

'• ball, to imitate 698 

Soap, potash 604 

" hard 604 

" labor saving 605 

white, hard 605 

honey 606 

" erasive 606 

'• transparent 605 

•' shaving 606 

" toilet 606 

gelatine 606 

" rose 606 

'• paint for wood 165 

" to refine 606 

•' soft, lomake 603, 604, 605 

Sofa, af ghan 635 

• • quilt, silk and velvet 569 

' " covers, to clean 648 

Soft maple sap 431 

Soiling farm stock 445 

Soilv non-productive 511 

Solder drops, to make 190 

soft, to make 190 

'• brazing, to make 190 

howtomake 189,190 

■' silver 191 

goML 191 

toird 191 

" for steam valves 191 

' ' German !<ilver 191 

Qoldering, materials for 189 

steel 190 

fire for 190 

tools for 189 

with a lamp 189 

" with an "iron" 190 

" with tin ltd 

Spatter work pictures 5^i 

Spectacles, care of 623 

Splicing a stick 32 

Sponge to bleach 240 

Sponges for carriages 135 



INDEX. 



7ir 



PAGE 

Spokes, for wagons, splitting 426 

Spool case 60S 

Spread, knit stand 636 

Spreader for manure 380 

Spring-bow, to make 25(0 

Spring-gun, how to make 'Z9i 

Spring-pole, to make 294 

Spider, how to clean 616 

Stains for furniture 517 

" floors 211 

" " bones and ivories 211 

" to remove from hands 590 

" ink, on mahogany 590 

" ink, on fabrics 590 

" on silver plate 591, 615 

" from pickling 592 

" lime 251 

" to take from scorched goods 590 

to take from walls 589 

" to take from linen 589 



592 
592 



591 

589 
589 
591 
591 



'' acid, to remove 

" tea, to remove 

" on musliu, to remove 

" grease, to remove 

" walnut, to remove 

" oil, to rem )ve 

" iron, to remove. 

" kerosene, to remove 

" lime, to remove 

to remove from broadcloth 589 

Stain, to polish 208 

tortoise, for horn 210 

" for musical instruments 210 

" yellow, for paper 212 

*' orange, for paper 212 

" crimson, for paper 211 

" green, for paper 211 

purple, for paper 211 

" green, for horn 211 

black, for horn 211 

" red, for horn 211 

" for boxwood, brown 206 

" oakcolor 209,210 

" " black walnut 206 

" " butternut 207 

" " rosewood color 208 

" " brown on steel 209 

" " brown on iron 209 

" " mahogany on wood 209 

" " violet on wood 209 

" " yellow on wood 209 

" " blue on wood 20;) 

•' " cherry color 20S 

" " purple on wood 208 

" " red on wood 208 

" " ebony color 207 

" " a violin 208 

" " veneering 210 

Stand for comer 521 

" rustic 541 

" forumbrella 608 

" for matches . 544 

" spread, knit 636 

Stave, gauge to make 495 

Starch, from potatoes and wheat 602 

Starching black calico 585 

Stabling cows 445 

Stables, farm 319-323 

Stable floors, plank. 323, 324 

" of coal tar 221 

earth for cows 325 

platform for cows 325 

mangers 322 

horse litter 322 

seed saver, for 493 

Stacking hay and grain 385, 386 

" com stalks 497 

straw 387 

Stanchions, material for 326 



Stanchions, height of 

how to lay out 

" adjusting 

Stalls for cattle 

width for horses 

" boxes 

" drainaiie 

Stake holes in sled 

Stakes, for fence 

" flower 

Step ladder, cheap 

Steamiuii and bending timber 

Steam box, cheap 

" valve solder 

" pipe, to mend 

Steel, to stain brown 

•' how to gild 

" trap 

"• tools, how to temper 

" polish to protect 

" to weld to iron 

" ornaments, to clean 

" burnt, to restore 

' ' to prevent rusting 

" engravings to transfer 

" solder for 

i " glue for 

Steelyards, rusty to renew 

I Stilts, how 1 o make 

j Stoops or piazzas 

I Stool, milking 

I Storm shelters for stock 

i Stoves, cement for 

" polish for 

" painting 

Stove blacking, home made 

Stones, balancing mill 

Stone boat clod crusher 

" " to make 376, 

Stone jars, to sweeten 

Stone crocks, to bake in 

" to clean 

" artificial 

" cement for 201, 

" for crockery 

" lime test for 

" to remove paint from 

" coating for 

" color to dye 

Storing vegetables 

beans ... 

Stropping a razor 

Strop, how to clean and renew 

Straps, riveting 

Striking ba^ 

Straw hats, to dye black 

" hat, to bleach 

" fancy basket 

'' matting, to cltan 

" covering for hot bed 

" stacking 

" cutting. 

" to decompose 

Striping brashes, how to make and clean 

Stripping tobacco 

Stockings, merino, to wash 

Stocking apron . 

Stuffing animals 

" birds 

Stuffed animals, preserving ... 

Stump puller, cheap 392, 

" burning oat . . 

Stucco, use of 

Suiiar cement for dishes 

Sugaring off 

Summer house, material for 

" cheap octagon and rustic 

Suspenders, knit 

I Sweet potatoes, how to keep 



... 32(> 

... 327 

... 327 

... 326' 

. . 323 

. . 334 

.... 323- 

... 368- 

.... 404 

... 246 

. . . 90 

... 30 

... 31 

... 191 
...245 
...209 

.... 215. 

... 293 

... 244 

... 216- 

. 215 

... 215 

... 215 

, . . . 213 

... 526 

. .. 190- 

... 182- 

... 213 

... 272 

... 316 

.... 455 

.. 446- 
205, 206 

... 18& 

.... 151 

.... 64& 
...245 

.... 377 
376, 377 

... 617 



241 
251 
205 
98 
254 
153 
165 



49S. 
237 
237 
141 
272 
595 
587 
560 
648 
101 
387 
38a 
49& 
161 
491 
576 
613 
306> 

3ia 

308^ 



39+ 
245 
61& 
43-^ 
47 
47 

63r 

464 



7i8 



INDEX.. 



Sweeping cap, to make 652 

Swift errand jack 292 



Table for corn husking , 

" toil el, home made 

" knives, rusty 

Tan bark, u-e of 

Tanning small hides 

'' sumac for 

" Isuckskin 

" furs and skins 

" with glycerine 

" sheepskins 

" skins for lashes 

" mole skins 

Tapping maple trees 

Tar for roofs 

'• paint 

" v.irnish, how to make .. 

Tatting, to wash 

Tea stains, to remove 

Teams, luanag -ment of 

'' how to unhitch 

' ' light, for farm 

" working, double 

Telescope, water 

Tempering a screw driver 

Tenon, how to make 

Tether, how to make 

Tethering sciew, to make 

Thatching shed roofs 

Thermometer, plush panel 

'' to test 

" to repair 

Thrippletree, equal iziui 

Thrashing buckwheat. 

" floor 

Three horse evener 

Tidy, hand woven 

" damask linen 

" wash blonde 

" stair linen 

" knit 

" Turkish towel 

" silk 

" silk or satin 

" plueh 

" phantom 

' ' scarf 

" muslin 

Tile drains 

Timber, maturity of 

" working unseasoned 

" selecting 

" warping 

" black walnut 

" planting nuts for 

" sapping 

" grains of 

" preparing to work 

" seasoning 30, 256. 

" steaming 

" splicing 

" bending 

" splitting 

" powder post in 

" depth and strength 

" manure spreader. 

^' time for felling 

" time for preserving . . 

" comparative firmness of 

" testing soundness of. 

" for posts 

" for whippletrees 

" for neck yoke 

'* for sleds 

" for maul 

" for shingles... 

" for bars 



363 

565 

565 

565 

565 

566 

566 

564 

566 

564 

564 

564 

564 

435 

426 

427 

428 

427 

428 

428 

428 

29 

29 

426 

HO 

32 

30 

32 

30 

255 

380 

425 

425 

425 

424 

63 

365 

365 



PAGE 

Timber, for ox yoke 444 

Tinware, to keep bright 616 

•' to mend 616 

Tin, to take from copper 2?8 

Tires, setting 134, 353, 354 

" broad and narrow 352 

" fitting 354 

Tools, how to grind 18 

" how to mark 18 

farm 313 

" iuiportance of good 10 

" for beginners 10 

'■ hardening 17 

" tempering 244 

" turning, petroleum for 254 

" fitting up and using 13 

" used on wood 21 

Tool boat, lor farm 377 

Toilet soap 606 

Tomatoes from cuttings 513 

Tongue pressure of wagon 361 

Tninsplrtuting, stakes in 485 

Traps, disinfecting 301 

baiting 300 

Trap, box 1 o make 293 

'^ clog for... 295 



293 
295 



297 



301 
301 
801 



steel, 
tube 

" plank 

" snare 

" of a barrel. 
" pit for rats. 

for birds 

Trapping mice 

" moles ... 
" insects . . 

the fox 299 

" the woodchuck 299 

the skunk 296,299 

" the mink 300 

the turkey 300 

thewolf 299 

the wildcat 300 

Trees, to prevent splitting 1 16 

" to set out fruit Ii6 

" pruning 115 

girdled 116 

" wounds on 116 

" staying up 117 

" transplanting large 117 

" staking 117 

" apple, replacing 116 

" maple, tapping 429 

" peach, from pits 508 

' ' peach, heading 307 

" from roots 494 

" protecting from animals 511 

" by a residence 498 

" for firewood 423 

" paint for Ill 

labelsfor 117 

felling -. 423, 424 

'' to measure height of 449 

Trellises for vines 93 

Trimming tree roots 485 

" nippers 142 

Trimmer, for vines 251 

Troughs, of hollow logs 338 

" for scalding hogs 339 

for sheep 338 

for eaves 340 

board, lor pigs ..337 

wrought iron 338 

' ' watering 339 

Trunks, varnish for 171 

Trunk, how to pack 256 

Trucks, in forest 423 

Truck, for barn 492 

Tub cheese, to make 645 



INDEX. 



719 



PAGE 

Tube, glass, to dMde 620 

' ' for fumigating 495 

Tumblers, to mend 621 

Tumbler of moss 688 

Turpentine, to select 149 

Turning chisels from flies 16 

Turnips, storing for winter 467 



Ultramarine, t-stfor. 

Umbrella stand 

Underdrains 

Upground cellars 



Varnish, copal, how 1 1 make 

" removing old 

" whereto 

" trausparent japan 

tar 

" spongy, how to remedy. 

" Chiutse 

" cup 

" buying and using 

" cracks, filling 

" imitation, shellac 

" prepaingto, 

" cheap 

*' transparent green 

back 

" ~ polishing 

crawling 

*' brushes 

*' cheap, for wagons 

*'• fine, for wood 

" French, for hardwood. 

■" black, 1 or handles 

■" for boilt;rs 

•" " oil paintings 

" " chromos 

" " harness 

" " rough work 

*' " trunks 

" " machinery 

" " iron 

" " glas>» 

" " violins 

" " maps 

" '* shoes 

" " furniture 

"Varnishing furniture 

" chromos 

" water pails 

" carriages 

" leaves 

Tase stand 

" rustic 

" log cabin 

" willow twig 

" novel 

" to fill 

" how to mount 

Vegetables, estimating bulk 

Vegetables, keeping 

Velvet coveted frames 

" ribbon, to iron 

" nap, to raise 

'' sofa quilt 

" panels 

Ventilator, for hay mow 

Ventilating attics 

" stables 

" icehouses 

Veneering, h'>w 10 color 

Vermilion, 10 prevent changing.. 

' ' test for 

Vinegar from potatoes 

Vmeyard land, preparing 

Violins, varnish for 

" stains for 

Violin, keying np 



.172, 



148 

608 

433 

78 

170 

517 
169 
175 
171 
172 
175 
169 
168 
28 
172 
168 
174 
174 
174 



169 
172 
172 
173 
173 
171 
175 
174 
139 
172 
171 
174 
173 
173 
171 
170 
226 
516 
168 
525 
172 
135 
170 
.541 
543 
544 
544 
607 
544 
543 
449 
501 
610 
584 
584 
569 
694 
511 
500 
323 
79 
210 
153 
148 
653 
504 
171 
283 
281 



PAGE 

Violin strings, selecting 281 

winding 282 

" " putting on 282 

Vise, for bench 23 

Vitrio', for shingles 49 

Wagons, color for 3.58 

farm, improved 350 

general care of . 3tjl 

" where to paint 3.58, 3.59 

proportions of 3.50 

" how to stripe 359 

" plank runners for 354 

" pole runners for 355 

double runners for ;-i55 

greasing 359 

"Wagon wheels, extra 353 

" wheels, shape of 351, 353 

axletree 351 

box, how to make 357 

" box, to iron 3.57 

box, extra :i56, 357 

" box, size of 351 

" box, platform 358 

" j^ck, temporary 361 

" felloes, oil for 362 

'' tongue, pressure : 361 

" tires, resetting 353 

" seat, how to make 356 

" spokes, how to split 426 

" manure box 358 

Walls, brick 48 

" brick, per foot. .. ! 45 

" plank, for cottages 317 

" to take stains from 589 

" for a dam 453 

" how to blacken 125 

" lim'ngfor 42 

" concrete 46 

" hollow 45 

" for ice house 78 

' ' of cheese factories 480 

" of dairy houses 342, 348 

" preparing for paper 58 

" papering 57 

Wall binders 45 

■ ' catch box 610 

" for poultry house 81 

" partitions of planks .^18 

' ' paper, selecting 230 

" paper, cleaning 58 

' ' paper, how to hang 57 

" paper, "trimming .57 

" paper, patterns m .58 

' • paper, pasting 57 

" paper, cheap 57 

" paper, on tin 59 

Walks of cement and gravel 76 

'• of boards 76 

' ' of sawdust 76 

" asphaltum 76 

" about the premises 75 

" curved 77 

" to clean, gravel 77 

" ' slab 75 

Wardrobe, home-made 608 

Washstand, mirror for 520 

' home-made 520 

Washes for dwellings liil 

for barns 162 

Wash, pour milk Ib5 

" copperas water 165 

white vitriol 165 

'' water lime 168 

flaxseed 166 

" brilliant, rice 164 

" of durable color 162 

durable brown 164 

compound mineral 165 



720 



INDEX. 



PAGE 

Wash that will not rub oflE 164 

" to stand fire 165 

" for brick 103 

" yellow, for buildings 163 

" how to color 164 

Washing delaines f)78 

" merino stockings 576 

" colored fabrics 576 

" silk goods 579 

fine fabrics 579-585, 586 

lace . 5«4 

" flannels 575 

batter 643 

' ' fluid 577, r.8>< 

Watch, regulating 281 

" how to wind 280 

" how to handle 280 

'• mainspring of 280 

Water cask, for garden 122 

Water pipes, protecting 250 

pipe, to thaw out. ..-. 253 

pipes, to mend 241 

' ' scales in 249 

lime, wa&h 163 

influence of iron on 107 

test for 107 

pole, for trapping 295 

storage 316 

telescope 256 

proof tar paint 163 

to purify 108 

to delect hard 108 

to see under 108 

increase flow of 108 

proof, cloth to make f.80 

Watering hordes in harness 438 

" garden plants 506 

Waxing floors 187 

Wax, to mold a face in 250 

" polish 185 

Weather glass, simple 513 

Weeds, to destroy 487 

Weighing hay 489 

" corn 512 

Wells and water 107 

" foul air in 

" how to see down 

What-not 



107 

107 

609 

Whey, extracting 645 



Wheelbarrow, plank, 
frame 



dumping , 



129 
130 
132 



adjustable 129 

box 130 

" finishing up 131 

of scantling 131 

" wheel, how to make 130 

wheel, to fit 131 

Wheels, licht 353 

" double sets 353 

" fitting tire to 354 

" jack, portable 361 

" for wheelbarrow 130 

" dish to test 352 

Whetstones 15 

Whitewash, Paris 167 

hard 163 

" durable 162 

" preparing 167 

" how to apply 166 

Whitewashing smoked walls 167 

Whitewashed walls, painting 150 

White lead cement 195 

" testing 147 

•' for broken dishes 617 



PAGE 

Whippletree, how to make 364 

Whipplett ees, ironing 365 

Whippleiree, best timber for 365- 

Wind wheel, how to make 279 

Windfall apples, to use 506 

Windmill, home made 498 

VV ine, blackberry to make 653- 

Window curtains, cheap 535 

' ' flower boxes 553 

' ' seats 523 

" pictures, home made 524 

' ' how to manage 56 

transparency 688 

Windows protecting 56 

•' painting 147 

' ' for bed rooms 317 

" of cheese factories 480 

of cellars 73 

" to remove spots from 56 

" to make appear long 56 

" to bold up 56 

' ' to remove paint from 56 

" to stop rattling 56 

Wire fence, how to make 411 

" strainer 412 

" for sheep 411 

Wire and board fence 405 

" and lath poultry fence 84 

" hanging basket 555 

" wall basket 557 

' ' how to anneal 118 

" solder 190 

" strength of 118 

" kinked 119 

" how to bronze 118 

" stretcher 94 

' ' for grape vines 93 

" for rai^pberry bushes 93 

" to wrap with 119 

" to color black 11& 

" to color blue 118 

Wood basket 562 

' ' box, parlor 554 

" pile, boxes 544 

' ' preparing for flre 420 

" sawing machine 419 

" green and dry 421 

' ' splitting holder 420 

" shrinkage of 33 

" hard coating for £3 

" preservation ()f 33 

" to take oil stains from 589 

" to prevent cracking 33 

' ' to measure in pile 449 

to soften 30 

' ' work, fine 11 

" work, finish 28 

Wool, to do up 501 

" to clean 649 

Work shop, home 9 

Workintfhitrhways 485 

butter 642 

Writing, to make look old 238 

Yards, ornamentine 96, 102 

" scraping 512 

" rockwork in 96 

" for poultry 84 

" milking 341 

Zinc and lead, uniting 241 

" how to paint 151 

" roof coloring 50 

" for outside work 154 

" coating for rooms. 154 



